BBC bosses spent more than £200 a day on chauffeur to take Breakfast host Dan Walker from Sheffield to Salford studio
BBC BOSSES are forking out more than £200 per day on a chauffeur for Breakfast host Dan Walker, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.
Dan – who hosts the show three days a week – is driven in an executive car from his home in Sheffield to the Salford Studios and back again.
The 39.4mile journey – which is just within the BBC’s 40 mile limit for taxi travel – costs at least £100 per trip and could add up to more than £30,000 a year.
And while his trip to work is in line with the company’s rules allowing taxi travel before the hours of 6am and after 22.45pm – his return journey is NOT.
A source said last night: “It’s atrocious how much bosses are forking out just to get Dan to work.
They could hire a reporter for that money alone.
“It also begs the question – if they are paying that for just one staff member’s travel on a daily basis, how much are they paying for the rest of them?”
A BBC source last night (SAT) claimed that Dan does drive himself to work on occasion.
Presenter Dan, 42, who lives in Sheffield with his wife and three children, has presented BBC Breakfast since 2016 and Football Focus since 2009.
Last year he was also announced as the host of new telly quiz show Case the Chase.
The various roles have netted him a reported £250,000 a year BBC salary, while breakfast co-host Louise Minchin did not make the “big earners list”.
Justifying the difference in 2018, he said: “I was only higher up the BBC list because I was doing other jobs for them, including working on Football Focus.
MOST READ IN TV & SHOWBIZ
“As much as I love that job, I don’t do it for free.
Asked if he believes he is worth the pay packet, he added: “Well, yes. I feel privileged to do the job, but there are a lot of people who get paid vast amounts more than I do.
“I work hard and have done for 20 years.”
- GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk