Ant and Dec earn more than the combined salaries of the BBC's talent

Wow.

Words by Jadie Troy-Pryde

Earlier this week, the BBC revealed the salaries of their top earning talent in a bid to be transparent with the public. As the incomes of presenters come from the licence fees paid by the public , the government had put pressure on the broadcaster to release its annual report into the public domain.

The result saw a backlash against the BBC, with many noting the remarkable difference between the pay of the broadcaster's male and female presenters. One reporter, Mishal Husain, even got the chance to interview her boss about the gender pay gap live on air and it was all kinds of awkward and wonderful.

Many were quick to point out that the BBC's top earners took home millions - with Chris Evans topping the list with a healthy £2.2 million annual salary, and Gary Lineker pocketing around £1.79 million a year.

However, these figures actually pale in comparison to ITV's Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. Media manager Emma Jane Bradshaw worked out that the Geordie duo actually earn more in a year than ALL of the 96 BBC talents put together.

'I've just added up ALL BBC talent's salaries. 28.7 million/year,' she tweeted.

'Ant & Dec: 30.0 million/year.'

A quick bit of maths works that out to be around £2.5 million PER MONTH. Casual.

However, it's also worth noting that ITV stars are able to supplement their salaries with advertisements, sponsorship deals and commercial work. Plus, Ant and Dec own their own production company which is responsible for shows like Saturday Night Takeaway.

When it comes to the BBC's talent, they are much more restricted when it comes to signing up for commercial deals, and it is thought they can only get involved in promotional work if it doesn't undermine the BBC's core values, or present a conflict of interest with the broadcaster.

Either way - they're all earning a pretty penny. Let that sink in while we count down the days to payday...