Sandi Toksvig: 'I’m paid 40% of what Stephen Fry got for QI'

The comedian reveals she is paid less than half what her predecessor received for fronting the BBC quiz show. Toksvig was answering a question about her pay during an economics session at the Women’s Equality party conference on Saturday.
Sandi Toksvig reveals 60% QI pay gap from Stephen Fry

[michaeljenkins]

Do you get paid 40% of what Stephen Fry got in his first year of the job? Or do you get paid 40% of what the guy who built the show up from the ground got paid by the time he'd made the show very successful and was a global star. Toksvig on the other hand is a radio 4 star in her first year in the job. It's almost like it's not all about gender.

[TheGamingHero]

*Personally, I'm suprised Alan also gets payed 40%.*
*He's a key person in the show; QI wouldn't be as funny if it wasn't for Alan.*

[alexgeorge]

I will mention Alan Davies as most of you are talking about Fry. Alan Davies has been in every episode of QI bar one. He's been on QI longer than Stephen. He may not be the host, but he draws an audience, more than Sandi does. I love Sandi as host but Fry worked on the show for over a decade and wanted to leave years before he did, meaning he was most likely enticed to stay with multiple raises in salary. Gender is probably the least relevant factor in this particular case.

[cigmorfil]

The correct question to ask is do Sandi and Noel get paid the same for Bake Off?

[Qwertyrfvgy]

I bet the new hosts of Top Gear don't get paid as much as Clarkson Hammond and May where there was no gender change.

[GRIMGORIRONHIDEROCKS]

In all fairness, they were paying Steven Fry the "big bucks" as he was a high name and I know, for myself at least, that it was he who had originally drawn me in as a viewer in the first place.

The show hasn't been the same since he left, though I do think Sandi makes a terrific second place.

Steven Fry is vertually a brand, and that was what the BBC were playing for.

Not to mention the fact that we don't don't if that's 40% of Steven's starting or ending paycheck.

[Bokkiek]

40% of what he got in his 2nd year or 40% of what he got in his 12th year.
It is not uncommon for a replacement host that get a lot less than his/her predecessor.

[tomimpala]

Because he built an audience for QI that wasn't guaranteed to come back when he left? Nothing personal, it's just that you can't measure a job in entertainment with a regular one. Matt Smith took a pay cut taking over from David Tennant, and I'm sure there are other examples of this.

And let me just add, I think Sandi does a brilliant job whenever I see her on (I don't follow QI that much), and there still may be a gender wage gap, I'm just saying that there are other factors at work here.

[noghd]

When I started my current job at the age of 24 I replaced a guy who was retiring and had done the job for 30 years. I didn't expect to be paid the same as him.

[popuptoaster]

I don't think she is complaining? I think she was asked and then was honest. The conclusions other people choose to draw from it are hardly her fault, I have to admit i am not one of her fans but i don't see that she is making a big deal about it and she's not daft enough to think show bizz pay is only about gender.

[ZakeBudek]

There is no pay equality in entertainment. Emma Thompson would probably get 150% of Fry's salary. This sort of comparison to real jobs distracts of actual working pay disparity for women.

[phitsf]

Great job Guardian News, you cut the soundbite off at almost the right time, right on the instant where she might have finished a sentence.

[jamesburke]

Alex Ferguson's salary was more than 100 / 40 to David Moyes' salary at Man Utd.

[uncommonknome]

Stephen Fry is an icon. Toksvig you are not. Count yourself lucky for the 40%. This has nothing to do with Gender.

[Sensorium]

I am gratified to see in the comments that so many people seem to understand there are reasons other than gender at play in this scenario. I like Sandy, but she has no where near the star power, history of success and talent that Stephen does. He could whisper that he would be reading the phone book and sell out any theatre you choose. You haven't earned the same pay because you aren't providing the same thing.

[kevenharvey]

I'm gonna guess she's comparing Stephen's salary in his last season to her salary in her first season.

[hailtothyking]

Honestly the most surprising thing about this is Alan Davies gets only as much as she does. I mean no offense to Sandy who I think does well enough for the show, but Alan has been doing it for much longer than she does.
And Stephen Fry is an international icon. As someone in the entertainment industry, you've got to know you get largely get paid based on your popularity and how much viewership the studio think you'll bring

[KB-liqr]

I support feminism but if one celebrity is more popular than the other of course that celebrity is going to get paid more. If her career was on the same level as his then definitely she should earn the same possibly more.

[federico]

I'm honestly surprised she gets as much as Davies in his 15th year of the show.

[Andrewx]

Probably because Stephen Fry is more famous? I'm sure if they got Helen Mirren or Scarlett Johansson to present QI they would get paid even more than Stephen. You can't go through life blaming everything you don't like on discrimination