Fiona Bruce says a BBC boss told her 'she didn't need a pay rise because of boyfriend's salary'

Fiona Bruce has revealed that she was told by bosses at the BBC that she wouldn't need a pay rise because she 'had a boyfriend'.

Speaking to British Vogue, the 54-year-old host of Question Time said she'd asked for a 'desultory' pay rise during her early years at the BBC.

She said:

My boss said, 'Do you really need it? What does your boyfriend do? You live with him, don't you? Doesn't he pay for most things?'

She recalled that in response, she said:

Well, I do the supermarket shopping, so I need to pay for that.

She added:

How ludicrous is that?

Bruce, who joined the BBC in 1989 as a researcher on Panorama, and over the next 14 years rose to become the first female newsreader on the BBC's News At Ten, did not reveal when the conversation took place.

The veteran broadcaster, who in January took over from David Dimbleby as the host of BBC One's current affairs panel show Question Time, also said that the corporation has changed over the years.

If the six o’clock (news) had a story they didn’t want the one o’clock (news) to know about, they wouldn’t put it in the running order.

She added:

It was a terrible atmosphere – dog-eat-dog, bitchy, not a nice place to be.

indy100has contacted the BBC for comment.

HT BT

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