Britain’s Got Talent judges Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon are reportedly fighting for a pay raise after being alerted by sources at ITV that their male counterparts are being paid more than double their salaries.
Despite Amanda, 49, being promoted to head judge whilst Simon Cowell recovers from his back injury, she is allegedly only (we say ‘only’) paid £700,000, a great deal less than David Walliams’ £1.5m.
By contrast, Alesha, 42, is on approximately £450,000, less than a fifth of Simon’s pay which totals around £2.5m a year.
To be fair, Simon did create the show, and now that SYCO Music has been dissolved he probably needs the extra cash.
A TV insider has claimed Amanda and Alesha were disappointed to discover the gender pay gap at BGT.
They said, “In this day and age it is madness that a bloke should be paid considerably more than a woman for doing identical jobs. Amanda and Alesha both bring something different, and brilliant, to the table, and are both very popular with viewers."
CHECK OUT Britain's Got Talent child stars - where are they now?
CLOSER Britain's Got Talent child stars: Then and now SLIDER with cover pic
1 of 15Swipe through to see all the Britain's Got Talent child stars - then and now...
2 of 15Aidan Davis, now
Aidan is now 19, still dancing and rapping and is a black belt in karate.His Facebook page says he writes all of his own lyrics, and is in the studio working on new material.Check out his Instagram (@aiidandavis) for more pictures...
3 of 15Aidan Davis, then
Aidan appeared on the talent show in 2009 when he was just 11 years old, and he has grown into quite the handsome young man now, hasn't he?During his audition, Simon Cowell told him: "I think you're better than any dancer I have ever seen. I think you are super, super, super talented."
4 of 15Hollie Steel, then
Hollie sparked a debate when she appeared on the show in series three in 2009 at the age of 10 about whether there should be a lower age limit for auditionees.She made it through to the final of the season and finished in sixth place but during her semi-final performance forgot the words to her song and burst into tears live on television.The singer was comforted by judge Amanda Holden and boss Simon Cowell demanded producers find time for her to have a second try on the night.
5 of 15Hollie Steel, now
After the show she toured with Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of Sound of Music with Jason Donovan and in 2010 released a self-titled album through her own record label BB5 Records Limited.These days she shares videos of herself singing on YouTube where she has more than 30,000 subscribers.
6 of 15Ronan Parke, then
Singer Ronan auditioned for the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent and found himself embroiled in an online smear campaign when an anonymous blogger claimed he had been groomed by Simon Cowell to appear on the show for two years beforehand.The allegations were proven to be untrue and Mr Cowell signed him up to release a self-titled album of covers, and single A Thousand Miles.
7 of 15Ronan Parke, now
He was later dropped from Simon's record label and is now working with Rosen Music Group on new music.His website states: "Ronan has so many exciting things coming up."
8 of 15George Sampson, then
George impressed viewers with his dancing when he body-popped his way across the stage in the second series.He went on to win the show and was signed up for some big money sponsorship and advertising deals.
9 of 15George Sampson, now
George released single Get On Up On The Dance Floor/Headz Up and has appeared in dance stage shows such as Into The Hoods.He had a cameo role in film StreetDance 3D and moved into acting with a recurring role in BBC soap Waterloo Road, and also appeared in Casualty.In 2016 he appeared in four episodes of Emmerdale as part of character Aaron Livesy's child abuse storyline, and was also part of a national tour of show Our House, featuring songs by Madness.
10 of 15Connie Talbot, now
In 2014 she released an EP, Gravity, and a DVD of her Beautiful World tour went on sale in 2015.In 2016 the singer released her seventh album, Matters To Me, and a single, Shut Up (Move On).
11 of 15Connie Talbot, then
Connie went on to become a huge success after auditioning for the very first series of Britain's Got Talent despite never having had a singing lesson in her life.She released her debut album Over The Rainbow in 2007 and went on to release a Christmas record, Holiday Magic.
12 of 15Jack Carroll, then
Jack auditioned for Britain's Got Talent as a comedian at the age of 14 in 2013.He finished runner-up in the seventh series and went on to land television roles in David Walliams' comedy Big School and BBC show Doctors.
13 of 15Jack Carroll, now
The teenager, who was born with cerebral palsy, was also signed up by Simon Cowell to write an autobiography.
14 of 15Shaheen Jafargholi, then
The Welsh singer impressed the judges with his performance of Michael Jackson's Who's Loving You when he auditioned for Britain's Got Talent in 2009.At the age of 12 he was asked to perform at the late pop star's funeral and, after the performance, Motown founder Berry Gordy said: "I have no cotton pickin' idea who that is, but if I were still in the business, I would sign him tomorrow."
15 of 15Shaheen Jafargholi, now
Shaheen made it to the final of his series and went on to branch out into acting, appearing in shows such as Torchwood, Grandpa In My Pocket, Casualty and EastEnders.
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The source continued, “Obviously, they’re not happy about this situation, and both of them are passionate about standing up for what’s right. They won’t let this lie. It’s imperative the gender pay divide becomes a thing of the past once and for all.
“Everyone is in agreement Simon deserves his wage as he’s the boss, but there seems no obvious explanation as to why David should be paid more than the women.”
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In an interview with Stella magazine last week, Amanda confirmed that she was on a lower wage than her male counterparts.
She questioned why this was, asking, “Because why is their value higher than ours?
“I don’t understand it. I know they bring something, and I think we’ve now proven that the jigsaw doesn’t work with a piece missing.”
Sources close to music mogul Simon have claimed he was unaware of the pay discrepancy and will fully back moves to get his co-stars pay rises.
He better. Not just out of principle - those stunning dresses aren’t cheap, Mr Cowell!