Gloria Hunniford: I’d be cross if a man was paid more than me

The presenter and frequent Loose Women contributor has said she would be “really, really cross” if a man received more money than her for the same work.

Hunniford has said she “one million percent” supports the drive for equal pay in the media.

Speaking at the Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) Awards in London, she said there were reasons for differences in male and female pay, but that equal work should be rewarded equally.

She said: “I think it’s terribly unfair, it doesn’t cross my particular path but I think newsreader is the best example - if I were one and the man sitting beside me, I would be really, really cross if he was getting paid more than me.”

Hunniford added: “There are different salaries for different things; if you have a female newsreader and a male newsreader doing exactly the same job there’s no question in my mind that they should be getting the same pay.

“So there are different scales, different programmes, it’s a bit like horses for courses, really. It’s what you are doing and what you get paid, and I think it’s right that the whole aspect is being investigated.”

Lorraine Kelly lent her voice to the cause of gender pay parity, saying she had been lucky not to be affected by disparities during her career, and that she believes things cannot regress on female rights at work.

She said: “To be honest, I do think it’s getting better, I’m very optimistic about it. I’ve been incredibly lucky.

“Obviously if somebody is doing the same job, it goes without saying they should be paid exactly the same rate...

“I think things will change, I don’t think things will ever go back to the way they were, I don’t think they can.”