Skip to content

Stephen Nolan BBC's third highest paid presenter

Robbie MeredithEducation and arts correspondent, BBC News NI
News imageBBC A man looks into the camera, he has short, cropped brown hair and is wearing a blue jacket and white t-shirt. He appears to be standing in a multi-storey or underground car park. BBC
Stephen Nolan was paid between £425,000 and £429,999 directly from the licence fee in 2025-26

Stephen Nolan was the third highest-paid BBC presenter in 2025/26, according to the corporation's just-published annual report.

He was paid between £425,000 and £429,999 directly from the licence fee.

That is higher than his pay from 2024/25, which was between £405,000 and £409,999.

His salary includes pay for his presenting work on BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio 5 Live and for Nolan Live on BBC TV.

Nolan was the third highest paid on-air presenter in 2024/25, with only radio presenters Greg James and Scott Mills earning more.

Mills, who was sacked by the BBC in April 2026, was the highest paid presenter during the 2025/26 financial year with a salary of between £745,000 and £749,999.

News imagePA Media Adam Smyth, Director for BBC Northern Ireland, wears black Ray Ban sunglasses. he has short greying hair and a beard. He wears a navy suit, blue shirt and navy tie. PA Media
BBC Northern Ireland's director Adam Smyth was paid between £185,000 and £189,999 in 2025/26

BBC Northern Ireland's director Adam Smyth meanwhile, was paid between £185,000 and £189,999 in 2025/26.

That is a rise on his salary in 2024/25, which was between £178,000 and £184,999.

The BBC is required to publish a list of individuals, both on-air and off-air, who receive more than £178,000 from licence fee revenue in a year.

But the pay figures do not include the salaries of stars who are paid for programmes made for the BBC by independent production companies.

For instance, Claudia Winkelman does not appear on the list of top earners despite her presenting work on Strictly Come Dancing and The Traitors.

News imageBBC/ Third Street Studios Three police officers looking at the camera. All are wearing police uniform that is black and dark green. The one on the left is a bald man, in the middle is a blonde woman and on the right is a bald man with dark beard.BBC/ Third Street Studios
The pay figures do not include salaries paid for programmes made for the BBC by independent production companies, such as Nolan's show Peelers

Nolan's show Peelers, for instance, is also made for the BBC by his independent production company Third Street Studios.

Some other high earners from previous years, including Gary Lineker and Zoe Ball, have left the BBC.

The BBC's annual report has been published at a time when it is facing the need to make large savings and is planning to cut up to 2,000 jobs.

The report said while the BBC remains the UK's leading brand for media, reaching 94% of adults on average per month, fewer than 80% of households pay the licence fee.

In a statement, the BBC Director-General Matt Brittin said it was "a moment of real jeopardy, not just for the BBC but for public service broadcasting and the UK as a whole."

The BBC receives most of its funding from the £180-a-year TV licence, but Brittin has recently described that funding model as "no longer fit for purpose".

What else does the annual report say about the BBC in Northern Ireland?

More widely, the BBC reported a strong year for BBC Northern Ireland with hit dramas like Blue Lights and Hope Street filmed locally, and the launch of The State of Us podcast, as well as dedicated films for YouTube.

It remained the most used media brand in Northern Ireland, used by 84% of adults per week.

The use of BBC online and BBC iPlayer rose to record levels in 2025/26, though there was no rise in the use of BBC Sounds.

However, the proportion of adults listening to BBC radio and watching BBC TV in Northern Ireland fell.

Overall, the BBC collected around £101m from licence fee payers in Northern Ireland, and the BBC employed 635 people in Northern Ireland in 2025/26.