Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Scott Mills previously hosted the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show
DJ Scott Mills was the highest-paid presenter at the BBC before he was sacked earlier this year, according to the corporation's annual report.
The 53-year-old was paid around £745,000 before his exit in March, when it emerged he had been accused of historical sexual offences. Mills co-operated with a police investigation and was not charged.
Other top earners at the BBC included Greg James, Stephen Nolan, Laura Kuenssberg, Vernon Kay and Alan Shearer, but Gary Lineker dropped significantly after leaving two months into the financial year.
The latest annual report also shows the number of TV licences in force went down by 539,000 last year.
In total, the number of TV licences sold has dropped by two million in the past five years - from 25.3 million in 2020-21 to 23.3 million last year.
The annual salaries list is far from a complete picture of what top talent at the BBC earn, as the corporation only publishes the names of stars it pays directly.
A large number of household names, such as Claudia Winkleman, Michael McIntyre and Graham Norton, are missing from the list because they are paid via production companies.
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Published 14 hours ago Mills was sacked by the BBC just a few days before the end of the financial year, meaning the £745,000 listed in the report represents almost his full annual BBC earnings.
That includes his tenure hosting the Radio 2 breakfast show as well as other BBC work, including several editions of Scott & Rylan's Pop: Top 10 podcast.
Sara Cox recently took over as host of Radio 2's breakfast show, with the BBC yet to announce who will permanently replace her in the teatime slot.
Image caption, Laura Kuenssberg (pictured interviewing Chancellor Rachel Reeves) was among the BBC's top earners
In March, it emerged that Mills had been accused of serious sexual offences involving a teenager under 16 in the late 1990s.
A police investigation was launched in 2016, which Mills said he "fully co-operated" with, before it was closed in 2019 after prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.
Mills's pay in his final year was a significant increase on the £355,000 he earned in the previous financial year, when he hosted Radio 2's afternoon show for 10 months and the breakfast show for two.
His predecessor Zoe Ball was paid more than £1.36m during her first year presenting the Radio 2 morning show in 2019.
However, Ball's earnings reduced over the six years she was on breakfast, and she earned just over £950,000 on her final full year in the job.
That means the BBC saved about £200,000 when it replaced Ball with Mills. Ball no longer appears on the list and recently left Radio 2 for Greatest Hits Radio.
Image caption, Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates replaced Lineker on Match of the Day
For the last six years, Ball and former Match of the Day host Gary Lineker have topped the star salaries list, but both exited their respective shows last year.
Lineker left the BBC last summer after sharing an Instagram reel that featured an antisemitic illustration, for which he apologised . He has gone on to sign new contracts with ITV and Netflix.
His former role on Match of the Day was split when he left and the show is n…