Gary Lineker has topped the list of the BBC’s highest-earning stars for the second year in a row.

Since 2017, the corporation has been legally obliged to disclose all of its employees earning more than £150,000 a year, with those receiving that amount between April 2018 and March 2019 revealed on Tuesday.

The Match of The Day presenter earned between £1,750,000 and £1,754,999 in that time, which the BBC has noted could be as much as a £5,000 drop year-on-year – despite his added workload fronting the BBC’s World Cup coverage last summer.

Former BBC Radio 2 host Chris Evans placed second in the list, earning between £1,250,000 and £1,254,999, in a period during which he stepped down as the host of the station’s breakfast show.

This year’s BBC pay report also marks the first time women have been listed in the top 10 highest earners, with Chris’ replacement Zoe Ball joining Claudia Winkleman and Vanessa Feltz on the list. 

The presenters place in 9th, 8th and 10th position respectively. 

Zoe had not been featured on the list of high earners at all in 2018, but pulled in between £370,000 and £374,999 in the most recent financial year, after taking over on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show in January.

The list of highest earners is as follows (via the BBC):

1. Gary Lineker – £1,750,000-£1,754,999

2. Chris Evans – £1,250,000-1,254,999

3. Graham Norton – £610,000-£614,999

4. Huw Edwards – £490,000-£494,999

5. Steve Wright – £465,000-469,999

6. Alan Shearer – £440,000-444,999

7. Andrew Marr – £390,000-£394,999

8. Claudia Winkleman – £370,000-£374,999

8. Zoe Ball – £370,000-£374,999

10. Vanessa Feltz – £355,000-£359,999

10. Jason Mohammad – £355,000-£359,999

The report reveals that the change is mostly down to several men taking large pay cuts, rather than the women being paid more, with Claudia making the top 10 for the first time despite not receiving a pay rise.

It should also be noted that these earnings do not take into account the work any of the presenters do on shows made by the BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Studios, which produces shows like Strictly Come Dancing.