Davies takes 25% pay cut

Actor Alan Davies claims the BBC slashed his pay by...

13:02 03 September 2009

Actor and presenter Alan Davies said he has had his pay slashed by a quarter to star in a new episode of the BBC's sleuth show 'Jonathan Creek'.

A 90-minute special, entitled 'The Judas Tree', is due to air next Easter, which the actor said he starts filming this month.

Writing on Twitter, Davies said: "just had a 25% pay cut on Jonathan Creek. The BBC are 'driving down talent costs'!"

A spokesman at Davies' agent's firm has declined to comment. However, the corporation has widely been making efforts to reduce stars' pay. A BBC spokesman said: "We don't comment on current salaries or contracts."

Davies plays the title role in the programme. The long-running show follows the adventures of a master of illusion who uses his talent and intellect to explain the unexplainable.

The last New Year special of the show pulled in around nine million viewers, proving to be a ratings winner.

Davies later said on his page that he was not annoyed by the reduction in his pay, but added that "the design budget has been cut by more than half".

He also said on the site he was worried and "absolutely it will effect (sic) the show. ...I'm all for 'driving down' exec costs ..."

On Tuesday, it emerged that Paul O'Grady has threatened to leave Channel 4 over plans to slash his chat show's budget in half.

The Corporation has drawn up proposals to cut the salaries of its highest paid staff – those who earn more than £100,000 a year – by one-quarter. Nearly 400 BBC executives earn more than £100,000 a year and 711 managers are paid over £70,000. The national average salary is £24,907.