Naga Munchetty is paid up to £50,000 from moonlighting at five events
The BBC’s biggest moonlighter: BBC Breakfast star Naga Munchetty pocketed £50,000 in just three months for outside work at five events (to top up her £365,000 salary)
- Presenter appeared at gatherings hosted by Experian, Property Drum and Pimco
- Munchetty also hosted award evenings for Inclusive Companies and RIBA
Naga Munchetty was paid up to £50,000 from moonlighting at five events – to top up her already-cushy £365,000 salary.
The BBC Breakfast presenter pocketed the extra cash by appearing at gatherings put on by credit agency Experian, industry magazine Property Drum and Pimco, an investment management firm.
She also hosted awards evenings for the Royal Institute of British Architects and Inclusive Companies.
The figures are published in bands, with Munchetty receiving between £5,000 and £10,000 for each of the outings between October and December last year.
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Naga Munchetty speaking at an Inclusive Companies event, for which she was paid between £5,000 and £10,000
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Naga Munchetty speaking at a Property Drum event, for which she was paid between £5,000 and £10,000
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A summary of paid-for external events attended by on-air journalists and senior leaders is published every quarter under BBC transparency rules
Munchetty has more than once caused a stir when making comments on Breakfast’s famous red sofa.
In 2019, the BBC’s complaints unit ruled that she breached the corporation’s guidelines by criticising Donald Trump for perceived ‘racism’.
The host condemned comments made by the then-president about political rivals, after he told female Democrats to ‘go back’ to their own counties.
Munchetty was rebuked by bosses for the comments but earned plaudits for her decision to speak about her struggles and share her experiences of being told herself to ‘go back to your own country’.
More recently, viewers slammed the journalist for ‘poorly-put’ comments about children’s safety during teachers’ strikes.
Munchetty and co-host Charlie Stayt were discussing the recent industrial action, but the segment was branded ‘biased’ after she described schools merely as ‘alternative childcare’ while others accused the show of ‘vilifying’ teachers.
And in December, she detailed how she was ‘left ‘fuming’ after a terrifying experience in which she was ‘intimidated’ by a man while walking alone.
The 47-year-old has recently sparked conversation about women’s safety after joining the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign in a bid to raise awareness of the issue.
As part of the project, Munchetty headed on a night out with a group of female students from Leeds, with the broadcaster going on to discuss her experience on BBC Radio 5 Live.
The ladies involved detailed being catcalled and inappropriately touched by men, with the star detailing how it’s an ongoing problem for women while also recalling her own moment of being intimated.
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The BBC Breakfast presenter pocketed the extra cash by appearing at gatherings put on by credit agency Experian, industry magazine Property Drum and Pimco, an investment management firm
![](https://london24news.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/LOGO2.png)
She also hosted awards evenings for the Royal Institute of British Architects and Inclusive Companies
![](https://london24news.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/LOGO2.png)
Munchetty has more than once caused a stir when making comments on Breakfast’s famous red sofa
![](https://london24news.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/LOGO2.png)
In 2019, the BBC’s complaints unit ruled that she breached the corporation’s guidelines by criticising Donald Trump for perceived ‘racism’
![](https://london24news.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/LOGO2.png)
In 2016, Munchetty was a contestant on the fourteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, having been paired with Pasha Kovalev, but the couple were voted out in the fourth week
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Munchetty graduated from the University of Leeds herself in 1997, having studied English Literature and Language
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Her first job was as a journalist on the City Pages of the London Evening Standard, before doing shifts for the Business Section of the Observer
Munchetty graduated from the University of Leeds herself in 1997, having studied English Literature and Language.
Her first job was as a journalist on the City Pages of the London Evening Standard, before doing shifts for the Business Section of the Observer.
Her on-screen career took off after that, beginning as a reporter for Reuters Financial Television, followed by stints at CNBC Europe, Channel 4 News and Bloomberg Television.
She then joined the BBC, where she has presented the likes of Newsnight, Sunday Morning Live and Money Box as well as her regular stints on Breakfast and Radio 5 Live.
In 2016, Munchetty was a contestant on the fourteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, having been paired with Pasha Kovalev, but the couple were voted out in the fourth week.
The moonlighting figures also showed that Today programme host Nick Robinson, on about £270,000 at the BBC, received two payments of more than £10,000 for different events.
Others who received a payment in the top tier of ‘over £10,000’ were veteran broadcaster John Simpson, news presenter Clive Myrie, Europe editor Katya Adler and HARDTalk presenter Stephen Sackur, who got this amount twice.
Simpson and Myrie each also received one payment of between £5,000 and £10,000.
BBC figures show the external events gravy train is starting to roll again.
The number of payments in excess of £10,000 rose from two in the July to September quarter last year to seven in the new figures, which cover October to December.
The total number of payments made to BBC journalists for outside work nearly doubled.
There were 88 events in the July to September quarter, but 161 were declared in the latest figures.
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Her on-screen career took off after that, beginning as a reporter for Reuters Financial Television, followed by stints at CNBC Europe, Channel 4 News and Bloomberg Television
![](https://london24news.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/LOGO2.png)
Today programme host Robinson, on about £270,000 at the BBC, received two payments of more than £10,000 for different events
![](https://london24news.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/LOGO2.png)
John Simpson received one payment between £5,000 and £10,000
The BBC said 86 per cent of the external events in the latest figures involved ‘payments of £5,000 or less’ and 50 per cent were ‘below £1,000’.
A spokesman said: ‘We publish the external paid-for work of on-air journalists for transparency and every event is approved in line with our editorial guidelines.’
Fifty-eight per cent of Mail+ readers who voted in a poll say none of the current presenters is their favourite host of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Instead they chose the late Brian Redhead. Nick Robinson, 59, who has presented the show since 2015, was the most popular current host with 19 per cent of the vote in the poll of more than 2,900 readers.
Amol Rajan, 39, failed to impress listeners, with only 2 per cent of the vote.