Naga Munchetty rakes in thousands on top of £360k BBC salary from lucrative side ventures – after it was revealed presenter makes almost double co-host’s pay

Naga Munchetty earned thousands of pounds this year on top of her huge salary at the BBC.

The BBC Breakfast presenter, 51, received a hefty pay rise from bosses last year despite being accused of bullying and reprimanded after being dragged into a meeting over a sex argument.

Figures released by the broadcaster last year showed the presenter had been given a £10,000 annual salary increase.

This took his pay packet to an eye-watering £360,000; which was almost twice as much as co-host Charlie Stayt.

Now the Daily Mail can reveal Naga is making thousands in 2026 with his additional cash.

This includes a ‘masterclass’ podcast titled ‘The Art of Asking Better Questions with Naga Munchetty’.

The BBC Breakfast presenter, 51, received a hefty pay rise from bosses despite being accused of bullying and reprimanded after being dragged into a meeting over a sex argument (filmed with co-presenter Charlie Stayt)

The BBC publishes a quarterly record of the earnings of its senior staff from external activities such as after-dinner speeches, hosting Q&A sessions for companies and handing out gongs at corporate parties.

Naga Under Fire has consistently featured on this list despite being one of the Beeb’s highest-earning stars.

The latest documents, released with a three-month delay, show that Naga participated in three spectacular events in January and February.

In January, he hosted a panel discussion on ‘access to the creative industries’ at Soho House in Manchester. This panel was attended by the likes of Noel Gallagher after the BRIT Awards after party in February.

The star was joined by New Order legend Peter Hook and Soho House CEO Andrew Carnie, with up to £5,000 paid for the event.

He traveled to the Middle East last week to attend the Emirates Literature Festival in Dubai.

There, she gave a talk about her book, ‘Probably Nothing’, which discussed her own experiences with the country’s healthcare and biases against women in the medical profession.

Punters paid £15 per ticket for the hour-long show, while Naga was awarded £1,000 – although it is not known whether his travel and accommodation was on top of this.

The following month, he chaired a discussion on The PR Network podcast ‘Just Curious’ series talking about interview techniques.

The podcast description says Naga “shares how curiosity, analytical rigor, and the discipline of asking the right questions shape his interview style and why the best journalists know when to stay quiet.”

‘Naga’s approach is based on openness: say little, make it too easy, and never make it about yourself.

‘This episode is a masterclass in communication and a call for systemic change; honest, thought-provoking and ultimately empowering.’

Last year it was revealed that Naga had received up to £56,000 in extra commission on top of his hefty BBC salary in 2024; This includes up to £10,000 to work for a charity.

According to the BBC’s website, presenters are allowed to work elsewhere but face strict rules.

They must obtain management approval and strictly adhere to the company’s conflict of interest, commercial clearance and neutrality rules.

The Daily Mail has contacted the BBC and Naga’s representative for comment.

Naga’s future at BBC Breakfast remains in doubt after an official investigation into his behavior was launched in November.

It was stated that the broadcaster was allowed to remain on the channel, but will only work with certain producers while the investigation continues.

A source told The Sun at the time: ‘Naga has not been taken off air but some members of the production are now monitoring him and his interactions.

‘He is also only allowed to talk to certain people. This is far from ideal as a way of working and everyone hopes it will come to fruition one way or another soon.’

Naga’s future on BBC Breakfast remains in doubt after an official investigation into his behavior was launched in November

Naga faces an uncertain future at the broadcaster, with reports that the resignation of Deborah Turness could leave her ‘vulnerable’.

The former chief executive of BBC News resigned in November last year after one of Donald Trump’s speeches was incorrectly edited by Panorama.

An insider told the publication at the time: ‘Naga’s situation has been an albatross around Breakfast’s neck since June, when widespread bullying at Media City was first exposed by The Sun.

‘While others were exonerated, the investigation into Naga did the opposite; new complaints arose against him.

‘They had no choice but to move the incident from the slightly softer status of ‘under investigation’ to a formal investigation. Of course, her critics gossip that the timing of Deborah’s departure was not entirely a coincidence.’

The BBC has repeatedly refused to comment on the allegations, saying ‘We do not comment on individual HR matters.’

Naga’s own conduct was thrown into doubt when it was reported that BBC Breakfast’s editor, Richard Frediani, had taken an extended leave of absence following the opening of an internal review into allegations of bullying and abuse on the programme.

Naga was reportedly spoken to by managers after a junior employee accused the journalist of bullying them.

It was also reported that he was dragged into a meeting after being accused of making a sex joke during a commercial break while hosting the radio show.

The presenter is believed to have used a vulgar slang term for a sex act and asked a colleague if he had done it before.

Naga is no longer represented by agent M&C Saatchi, who also dropped former BBC One Show presenter Jermaine Jenas following the sex scandal.

Its new agents are reportedly ‘in talks with rival station LBC’ to explore other opportunities.

The journalist is paid almost twice as much as co-host Charlie, 63, who remains in the £190,000 bracket, as tensions between the pair are said to be ‘intense’.

The Daily Mail last year told how Naga was in talks with Sky News and radio station LBC to leave the company, industry sources have revealed.

In a surprise move, the presenter held talks with both broadcasters in a bid to escape the toxic atmosphere of the show he co-hosts three days a week with Charlie.

Sources said the talks ended in failure as some bosses in the channels were not sure about Naga’s ‘difficult ways’ and decided not to continue the talks.

One said: ‘There were quite a few discussions with both Sky and LBC but then both decided not to go any further.

‘He’s quite clever and maybe that wasn’t what they were looking for, so everything fell apart.

‘Rightly or wrongly, Naga has a reputation for being quite harsh and difficult at times; they didn’t like it.’

BBC Breakfast bosses have reportedly been forced to apologize to Geri Halliwell-Horner following a very awkward interview with Naga and Charlie.

During the strange interview, which resurfaced in October 2023, Naga caught the Spice Girl off guard and asked: ‘Don’t you like doing interviews?’

After the episode ended, Geri allegedly said that she did not want to appear on the show with the duo again.

Naga violated BBC rules in 2019 when he criticized President Donald Trump for perceived racism.

He objected to the comments made by the US President after he told the opposition to ‘go back to where they came from’.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Naga said: ‘As a woman of colour, when I was told to go back to where I came from, that was part of racism.

‘Now I’m not accusing anyone of anything here, but you know what some of the expressions mean.’

Naga said he felt ‘absolutely furious’ and said many people in the UK might feel the same way.

He told co-host Dan Walker: “I can imagine that a lot of people in this country would be absolutely outraged that a man in that position would think it would be okay to overstep the boundaries by using language like that.”

The company’s complaints unit ruled that his remarks breached BBC rules by criticizing the US President for perceived racism.

The BBC said the Breakfast presenter had his own views but “went beyond what the rules allowed”.

A BBC spokesman said the company’s Executive Complaints Unit [ECU] It held that ‘although Ms Munchetty was entitled to a personal response to the phrase ‘go back to your own country’ as it was based on her own experience, her comments overall went beyond what the rules permitted’.

It has been a tumultuous time for the BBC after its director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah sensationally resigned amid an impartiality row after an internal report accused them of institutional bias and censorship.

MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace has been sacked following a series of misconduct allegations regarding his time on the show.

It was later announced in September that Irish chef Anna Haugh would take over from John Torode, who lost his job after two decades amid allegations he used “racist language in 2018”.