Rumour has it that the core, long-standing panellists can pull in between £75,000 and £150,000 a year. That’s not a salary; that’s the price of a small, slightly damp cottage in the countryside. Or, in today’s economy, roughly the cost of two years of weekly supermarket shops and a single family holiday to Cornwall. For them, it’s not just about the on-air chat. They’re doing the real work—the hair, the makeup, the endless Zoom meetings about which fun anecdote is “on brand” for the day. They have to be ready to debate politics one minute and their favourite type of cheese the next. That kind of flexibility? That’s worth a premium. It’s like being paid extra for being able to change a tyre while also cooking a roast dinner—a rare skill.
But let’s not kid ourselves. £150,000 sounds like a lot until you remember they’re paying for their own eyelash extensions, the stylist that makes them look “effortlessly chic,” and the taxman. Plus, they have to deal with the public’s opinion. Imagine having your haircut critiqued by a lady in a Tesco car park. That alone should come with a hazard pay bonus.
Eight out of ten firms pay men more than women
The Guest Stars: The “Just Happy to Be Here” Bracket
Now, what about the guest panellists? You know, the ones who pop in for a week to promote a book or a new reality show. They’re, in financial terms, the lottery ticket holders. They usually get a flat appearance fee, often reported to be around £150 to £350 per episode. That sounds decent, right? Wrong. When you factor in the travel, the time spent sitting in a green room with only a sad bowl of grapes for company, and the emotional labour of having to laugh at a joke from a co-star you secretly can’t stand, it’s barely enough to cover a nice dinner and an Uber home. It’s the “paid in exposure” dream, except the exposure is of your slightly awkward laugh as the camera zooms in.
Here’s a funny comparison: think of the pay scale like a supermarket bakery. The main panellist is the head baker—they get the salary, the benefits, and the first pick of the leftover doughnuts. The guest panellist is the temp worker who just shows up to frost the cupcakes for a few hours. You both leave smelling like vanilla, but one of you is going home to a hot bath, and the other is checking their bank balance for overdraft fees. Same studio, different planets.
The Gender Wage Gap – Dhisrupt
