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| Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear pay rises by £1m | Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear pay rises by £1m |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson boosted his income from the motoring programme by £1m in the year to the end of March, increasing his total earnings from the company set up to commercially exploit the show globally by almost 50% to more than £3m. | Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson boosted his income from the motoring programme by £1m in the year to the end of March, increasing his total earnings from the company set up to commercially exploit the show globally by almost 50% to more than £3m. |
| Accounts for Bedder 6, the company created by Clarkson and Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman as a joint venture with BBC Worldwide, show the presenter took home £3.156m in the year to the end of March. | Accounts for Bedder 6, the company created by Clarkson and Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman as a joint venture with BBC Worldwide, show the presenter took home £3.156m in the year to the end of March. |
| The accounts show Clarkson, who last week sold his 30% stake to BBC Worldwide in a multimillion-pound deal, boosted the annual "payment for services" fee he receives from Bedder 6 by 30% year on year to £456,000. A BBC Worldwide spokesman said Clarkson was paid a one-off fee of £156,000 for work outside his contract; his standard £350,000 fee remains unchanged. | |
| Bedder 6, set up about five years ago, has been lucrative for Clarkson and Wilman – who also sold his 20% stake to BBC Worldwide last week – but the sums paid out have become something of an embarrassment to the corporation. | Bedder 6, set up about five years ago, has been lucrative for Clarkson and Wilman – who also sold his 20% stake to BBC Worldwide last week – but the sums paid out have become something of an embarrassment to the corporation. |
| On top of his Bedder 6 fee, Clarkson pocketed his 30% share of the £9.02m the firm paid in dividends – £2.7m – meaning he took home £3.156m from the venture. | On top of his Bedder 6 fee, Clarkson pocketed his 30% share of the £9.02m the firm paid in dividends – £2.7m – meaning he took home £3.156m from the venture. |
| This is a 47% jump on the £2.14m he took home from Bedder 6 in the year to the end of March 2011. | This is a 47% jump on the £2.14m he took home from Bedder 6 in the year to the end of March 2011. |
| Clarkson's payout excludes the separate "talent fee" he receives from the BBC licence fee, which was just less than £500,000. | |
| This would take his total income from BBC activities to £3.66m, up from £2.65m, making him easily the corporation's best-paid star. | This would take his total income from BBC activities to £3.66m, up from £2.65m, making him easily the corporation's best-paid star. |
| Graham Norton earns a little more than £2m from the licence fee and his production company So Television, which was recently acquired by ITV, while Gary Lineker reportedly earns about £2m a year in presenter fees. | Graham Norton earns a little more than £2m from the licence fee and his production company So Television, which was recently acquired by ITV, while Gary Lineker reportedly earns about £2m a year in presenter fees. |
| Bedder 6's pre-tax profits rose just under 5% year on year, to £15.9m, while revenue from selling Top Gear around the world and related products, such as DVDs, rose slightly to £42.5m. | Bedder 6's pre-tax profits rose just under 5% year on year, to £15.9m, while revenue from selling Top Gear around the world and related products, such as DVDs, rose slightly to £42.5m. |
| A BBC Worldwide spokesman said: "As the majority shareholder in the business, the dividend increase also allows BBC Worldwide to return more money to the BBC. BBC Worldwide now owns 100% of Bedder 6 and these payments relate to the financial accounts for 2011/12." | |
| Clarkson and co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May have signed new deals to remain with the programme for another three years. | Clarkson and co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May have signed new deals to remain with the programme for another three years. |
| All three will receive a share of commercial revenues generated by Top Gear from BBC Worldwide under their new deals. But the money will be paid to them directly, not channelled via a separate company. | All three will receive a share of commercial revenues generated by Top Gear from BBC Worldwide under their new deals. But the money will be paid to them directly, not channelled via a separate company. |
| Wilman saw his fees from Bedder 6 rise from £60,000 to £100,000. Wilman, including his share of the dividend of about £1.8m, made about £1.9m from Bedder 6 in the year to the end of March. | Wilman saw his fees from Bedder 6 rise from £60,000 to £100,000. Wilman, including his share of the dividend of about £1.8m, made about £1.9m from Bedder 6 in the year to the end of March. |
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