Wogan attacks BBC's 'overpaid' presenters

Sir Terry Wogan has attacked the BBC for spending taxpayers' money on overpaid presenters.

The veteran broadcaster says the corporation is wasting the huge fees unnecessarily in a new book of essays about the television industry.

"You might say the lunatics have taken over the asylum," he writes. "The culture now in television is that the presenter calls the financial and, increasingly, the creative shots.

"As for those much-trumpeted seven-figure deals, I have the suspicion that the corporation is in some cases overpaying. Their excuse is that if they do not offer millions, the opposition will lure the talent away with honeyed words and equally large sums.

"Frankly the BBC is often giving huge quantities of money to people who would prefer to work for the corporation anyway."

A BBC spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: "Presenters' salaries need to be set against our audience's firm view that they expect the BBC to provide them with the best talent but not necessarily the cheapest talent.

"The success of presenters like Jonathan Ross with his new TV series and the ongoing radio show demonstrate that for millions of people he is a good investment."