Louise Minchin 'kicked up a fuss' over BBC Breakfast pay before exit
Louise Minchin was a main presenter on BBC Breakfast for 20 years before leaving the morning show in 2021.
Louise Minchin discusses leaving BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast's Louise Minchin was one of the first women on TV to raise the issue of equal pay. The former BBC host admitted that she "kicked up a fuss" about the issue before leaving her role on the iconic red sofa back in 2021.
Louise, 56, joined the BBC Breakfast team in 2001 and became a main anchor in 2012. She realised that women were being paid less than men when the broadcasters published the salaries of everyone who earned more than £150,000.
The TV host realised that she wasn't on the list, however her BBC Breakfast co-star, Dan Walker, was. She remembers interviewing Amol Rajan, the BBC’s media editor at the time, as she said: " It just unfolded in front of my eyes on live TV, that my story was the story of many, many women who were not being paid the same. Honestly, I was just absolutely gobsmacked."
Speaking to The Times, Louise recently admitted that she soon learnt that Dan was only paid more because he presented other things, but at the time, when they came off air, he said cheerily: “It’s going to be a fun day.”
In a recent interview, Louise said: "I was always paid the same as Dan for the job that we did — to sit on the BBC Breakfast sofa,” adding that she had “kicked up a fuss” about equal pay from her first day on the job “long before he arrived”.
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She said that "things got better" after that and five years later she is said to be earning £185,000.
Louise admitted that the equal pay issues were sorted, as she said: “I should have stayed there and taken advantage of equal pay. We need to share awkward conversations about how much we’re paid.”
Louise has shared the real reason behind her choice to call it quits as she admitted that the presenting role and early starts were "utterly gruelling". Louise shared that she had "done it enough" as she opted to "quit while she was ahead".
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The former BBC host said: “You have to be 100 per cent nice Louise. That job comes with an enormous amount of pressure. It’s relentless.
"The hours are horrific, utterly, utterly gruelling, and it has an impact on every different part of your life — when you eat, when you sleep, how you feel.
"It was my dream job and I absolutely loved it but I’d done it enough.”
