BBC employees have expressed growing dissatisfaction with senior leadership following the publication of the broadcaster's latest list of highest-paid presenters.

Anonymous staff members told The Independent that morale has deteriorated as well-known on-air personalities continue to receive substantial salaries and, in some cases, significant pay rises, while many employees face modest annual pay increases, limited career progression and the prospect of redundancies.

Their concerns come as the BBC prepares to reduce costs by £80 million, with plans to cut between 1,800 and 2,000 roles across news, television and radio.

Staff described what they see as a disconnect between senior management and employees working behind the scenes, arguing that those responsible for producing programmes receive far less recognition and financial reward than high-profile presenters.

The BBC defended its approach, stating that it must remain competitive to attract and retain talented employees while balancing financial pressures and delivering value for audiences.

The debate has intensified after the corporation's annual report showed that the number of television licence fee holders fell by approximately 540,000 over the past financial year, leaving 23.3 million active licences.The decline comes as the Government reviews the BBC's Royal Charter and considers the broadcaster's future funding model.

At the same time, the BBC launched a high-profile campaign encouraging viewers to pay the licence fee, featuring several well-known personalities whose salaries were disclosed shortly afterwards.

The combination of falling licence fee income, planned job losses and high presenter pay has fuelled internal criticism and renewed public debate about how the publicly funded broadcaster allocates its resources.