Naga Munchetty has raked in thousands of pounds this year on top of her huge BBC salary.
The BBC Breakfast presenter, 51, received a hefty pay rise last year from bosses despite being reprimanded after she was accused of bullying and hauled into a meeting over a sex jibe.
Figures released by the broadcaster last year showed the presenter was awarded a £10,000 increase in her annual salary.
It took her pay packet to an eye-watering £360,000 – almost double that of her co-host Charlie Stayt.
Now, the Daily Mail can reveal that Naga has made thousands with her cash sidelines in 2026.
This includes a ‘masterclass’ podcast entitled ‘The Art of Asking Better Questions with Naga Munchetty’.
Naga Munchetty has raked in thousands of pounds this year on top of her huge BBC salary, the Daily Mail reveals
The BBC Breakfast presenter, 51, received a hefty pay rise from bosses despite being reprimanded after she was accused of bullying and hauled into a meeting over a sex jibe (pictured with co-host Charlie Stayt)
The BBC publishes a quarterly register of its top staff’s earnings from external events such as after-dinner speeches, hosting Q&A sessions for firms, and handing out gongs at corporate bashes.
Under-fire Naga has continually been on that list despite being one of the Beeb’s highest-paid stars.
The latest released documents – which have a three-month lag – show that Naga was involved in three glam events in January and February.
In January, she hosted a panel discussion about ‘access to the creative industries’ at Soho House in Manchester, which the likes of Noel Gallagher attended for The BRIT Awards after-party in February.
The star was joined by New Order legend Peter Hook and Soho House CEO Andrew Carnie and was paid up to £5,000 for the event.
The previous week, she travelled to the Middle East to attend the Emirates Festival of Literature in Dubai.
There, she gave a talk on her book ‘It’s Probably Nothing’, which discusses her own experiences with the country’s healthcare and the bias against women in the medical profession.
Punters paid £15-a-ticket for the one-hour show while Naga was handed up to £1,000 – although it’s not known if her travel and accommodation were on top of this.
The following month, she headed up a debate on The PR Network podcast ‘Just Curious’ series talking about interviewing techniques.
According to the podcast description, it says that Naga ‘shares how curiosity, analytical rigour and the discipline of asking the right questions have shaped her interviewing style, and why the best journalists know when to stay silent.
‘At the heart of Naga’s approach is clarity: say little, facilitate much, and never make the story about yourself.
‘This episode is a masterclass in communication and a rallying cry for systemic change – honest, thought-provoking and ultimately empowering.’
Last year, it was revealed that Naga had raked in up to an extra £56,000 on top of her bumper BBC salary in 2024, which included up to £10,000 for work with a charity.
According to the BBC website, presenters are allowed to work elsewhere, but they face strict guidelines.
They must seek management approval and strictly abide by the corporation’s rules on conflicts of interest, commercial endorsements, and impartiality.
The Daily Mail has contacted the BBC and Naga’s representative for comment.
Naga’s future at BBC Breakfast remains in doubt after a formal investigation was launched into her behaviour in November.
The broadcaster is said to be allowed to stay on at the channel, but that she will only work with certain producers while the probe takes place.
A source told The Sun at the time: ‘Naga has not been taken off air but now has certain members of production monitoring her and her interactions.
‘She’s only allowed to speak to specific people too. It’s far from ideal as a way of working and everyone hopes it comes to a head someway or another soon.’
Naga’s future at BBC Breakfast remains in doubt after a formal investigation was launched into her behaviour in November
Naga faces an uncertain future on the broadcaster, with reports Deborah Turness’s resignation could leave her ‘vulnerable’.
The former CEO of BBC News quit in November last year over the botched editing of one of Donald Trump’s speeches by Panorama.
An insider told the publication at the time: ‘The Naga situation has been an albatross around Breakfast’s neck since June when the endemic bullying at Media City was first exposed by The Sun.
‘Whilst others have been cleared, the review on Naga has done the opposite – with further complaints against her.
‘They had no choice but to take things from the slightly softer ‘under review’ to formal investigation. Of course, her detractors are gossiping that the timing with Deborah’s departure isn’t exactly a coincidence.’
The BBC has repeatedly declined to comment on the allegations, saying: ‘We do not comment on individual HR matters.’
Naga’s own conduct was thrown into doubt when BBC Breakfast’s editor Richard Frediani reportedly took an extended period of leave, after an internal review of bullying and misconduct allegations was opened into the show.
Naga was reportedly spoken to by executives after a junior staffer accused the journalist of bullying them.
She was also reportedly hauled into a meeting after she was accused of making a sex jibe during an ad break while hosting her radio show.
The presenter is believed to have used a crude slang term for a sex act and reportedly asked a colleague if they had ever done it.
Naga is no longer represented by agents M&C Saatchi, who also dropped former BBC One Show host Jermaine Jenas after his sexting scandal.
Her new agents have reportedly ‘held talks with rival station LBC’ to explore other opportunities.
The journalist is paid almost double that of her co-host Charlie, 63, who remained in the £190,000 bracket, as tensions between the pair are said to be ‘rife’.
Last year, the Daily Mail told how Naga has been holding discussions with Sky News and radio station LBC in an apparent bid to leave the corporation, industry sources have revealed.
In a surprise move, the presenter held talks with both broadcasters in what appears to be an attempt to escape the toxic atmosphere on the programme she co-hosts three days a week with Charlie.
Sources said the talks broke down, with some bosses at the networks unsure about Naga’s ‘tough ways’ and deciding against continuing negotiations.
One said: ‘There were quite a few discussions with both Sky and LBC but then it was decided by both that they wouldn’t go any further.
‘She is quite sharp and it is perhaps not what they were looking for, so it all kind of fell apart.
‘Rightly or wrongly, Naga has a reputation for being quite tough and difficult at times – they didn’t like that.’
BBC Breakfast bosses were reportedly forced to apologise to Geri Halliwell-Horner after a very awkward interview with Naga and Charlie.
During the awkward resurfaced interview from October 2023, Naga, caught the Spice Girl off guard as she asked: ‘Do you not like being interviewed?’
After the segment ended, Geri allegedly said she did not want to appear on the show opposite the pair ever again.
In 2019, Naga breached BBC guidelines by criticising President Donald Trump for perceived racism.
She took issue with comments made by the US President after he told opponents to ‘go back’ to the ‘places from which they came’.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Naga said: ‘Every time I have been told, as a woman of colour, to go back to where I came from, that was embedded in racism.
‘Now I’m not accusing anyone of anything here, but you know what certain phrases mean.’
Naga said she felt ‘absolutely furious’ and suggested many people in the UK might feel the same way.
‘I can imagine lots of people in this country will be feeling absolutely furious that a man in that position feels it’s okay to skirt the lines with using language like that,’ she told co-presenter Dan Walker.
Her comments breached BBC guidelines by criticising the US President for perceived racism, the corporation’s complaints unit ruled.
The BBC said the Breakfast host was entitled to her own views but had gone ‘beyond what the guidelines allow for’.
A BBC spokeswoman said the corporation’s Executive Complaints Unit [ECU] had ruled that ‘while Ms Munchetty was entitled to give a personal response to the phrase ‘go back to your own country’ as it was rooted in her own experience, overall her comments went beyond what the guidelines allow for’.
It has been a rocky time for the BBC after director general Tim Davie and Deborah, chief executive of BBC News, sensationally stepped down amid an impartiality row after an internal report accused it of institutional bias and censorship.
MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace was sacked following a series of misconduct allegations relating to his time on the series.
Then, in September, Irish chef Anna Haugh was announced to take over from John Torode, who lost his job after two decades over allegations he used ‘racist language in 2018’, something he claims he has ‘no recollection’ of.
