THE percentage of privately educated BBC staff is four times higher in top-paying jobs than in the lowest salary bracket, its own figures reveal.
The news will increase claims of elitism at the broadcaster.
Only seven per cent of Brits have a private education, but 32 per cent of BBC roles with a salary of £150,000 or more are occupied by those who do.
And just 6.8 per cent of jobs there with pay of under £30,000 are taken by the privately educated.
Social mobility expert Prof Lee Elliot Major said: “The BBC’s disproportionate representation of privately educated individuals in its highest-paying roles starkly illustrates the persistent class barriers in British society.
“The BBC was founded to serve the whole nation — yet we have a public institution that looks and sounds out of step with the lives of the people it is intended to serve and represent.
“It isn’t healthy when the most powerful roles come from the same small slice of society.
“It means news organisations are fishing in a narrow talent pool, missing out on the perspectives of people from different backgrounds.”
The BBC said: “We’re doing more than ever to bring people to the BBC from all backgrounds.”
In 2023, an Ofcom report said low-income audiences found the Beeb too “politically correct”.
Percentage of privately educated BBC staff is four times higher in top-paying jobs than in the lowest salary bracket[/caption]
