Today presenters to take pay cuts

Humphrys recently agreed a new two-year contract for the show that will see his earnings drop by an estimated £75,000 a year.

The new deal, under which he will present 150 editions of the flagship programme annually, replaces his existing £450,000 contract, which expires at the end of this month.

The negotiations are among wider attempts by the BBC to try to rein in the salaries of its best known presenters.

A source close to Humphrys, who is employed on a freelance basis and who has worked on Today since 1987, said the presenter had “volunteered” to take a reduction because it was “entirely reasonable” to do so.

His new contract means he is likely to get an estimated £2,500 for each edition until February 2013 — a 17 per cent cut.

Humphrys, 67, has also agreed a separate deal with the BBC to remain as the host of Mastermind for at least one further series.

His pay for this programme, which has been approved by executives, is unaffected by budget cuts. Industry experts estimate this contract is worth £250,000 a year. Filming on the 31-part series, which takes place at studios in Manchester, begins this spring.

Outside his BBC work, Humphrys charges £5,000-£10,000 for after-dinner speaking engagements, meaning that he could now be earning around £800,000 a year in total.

A BBC source said: “The view is that John Humphrys is by quite some distance the best-paid presenter at Radio 4.

"His previous deal saw him present 150 Today programmes a year at £3,000 per edition and a cut of £500 per show is very likely in the current climate.”

The source added that a committee of BBC executives, including Tim Davie, director of audio and music, is reviewing on a case-by-case basis the deals of those freelance presenters who earn more than £100,000 annually.

The source said: “The trend is to offer presenters longer contracts for the same salary or for a lower salary. People are in effect being invited to gamble against the rate of inflation.”

Today’s other freelance hosts, Sarah Montague, 45, and James Naughtie, 59, have been informed by letter that their contracts also face a cut of up to 20 per cent.

A spokesman for Montague, who is understood to earn £150,000 a year, refused to comment. She presents fewer editions of Today than Humphrys.

Naughtie, who is thought to be paid £200,000 a year, said: “Like other contracted presenters, I will be having discussions about the future at the appropriate moment.”

Today’s other presenters, Evan Davis and Justin Webb, have permanent BBC staff jobs, and are not subject to the contract renegotiations.

Humphrys is the latest high-profile BBC employee who has agreed to work for a lower salary. Jeremy Paxman is understood to have taken a cut of around 20 per cent to remain as Newsnight anchor for an estimated £3.2 million over four years.

Anne Robinson, who presents The Weakest Link on BBC One, is reported to have accepted a 50 per cent cut and will now earn £2 million over two years.

And Question Time host David Dimbleby revealed this month that the BBC has offered him a five-year contract said to be worth £3.5 million.

Yesterday it was reported that Andrew Marr, who presents his owns shows on television and radio, is paid around £580,000 a year

A BBC spokesman said: “We never comment on contract issues.”