But, if you'd like to know who earns the most wages in Weatherfield, here we go:
The Sun say that William Roache (Ken Barlow), Barbara Knox (Rita Tanner) and Jack P. Shepherd (David Platt) all earn £200,000 a year.
Michael Le Vell (Kev Webster) they say, earns £170,000 with Kym Marsh (Michelle McDonald) and Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald) earning £150,000 a year.
Helen Flanagan (Rosie Webster) is reported to be on £30,000 for her initial three months contract and then this was upped to £120,000 for a year.
And finally, Fat Brenda (Fat Brenda) is paid in a packet of 20 fags a day with a biscuit bonus every fortnight.
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Jack P Shepherd must have a VERY good agent if he's being paid the same as Bill Roache and La Knox!
ReplyDeleteI'd say it's fair. The other two have seniority but until Ken's stroke, their active srorylines seemed behind them and they'd been more recurrent than active whereas Shepherd has been front and center for years and will be for years to come.
DeleteI can see how publishing the salaries can lead to bickering among the staff about who "deserves" what. But salaries have always been public in USA TV without a problem that I've known.
ReplyDeletePerhaps actors in the UK are used to more "reasonable" salaries but this seems low for an internationally watched soap that airs in prime time.
ReplyDeleteJust because Bill and Barbara are older shouldn't necessarily mean the get paid the most. Surely it should be based on how much work you actually do ( and for some people how good they are).
ReplyDeleteI think show biz salaries are always based on popularity more than hard work. (Remember when Brando got 20 times the pay of Christopher Reeve for a cameo in Superman?)
DeleteOn a soap, it stands to reason that, barring incredible charisma, an actor who has been on forever has more fans tuning in to see them than a newcomer. Plus, an older actor has negotiated several contracts beyond whatever is the starting pay for the show so they've had more chances to better their situation.
Salaries with the same employer rarely go down. At one time Rita and Ken's portrayers were as prominent and hardworking as David's. They're still punching in so why should they get penalized with lesser pay just because the writers don't choose to feature them as much as before?
Another aspect is paying the younger actors enough to keep them on board. It might not be about their workload or competence but how popular they are on social media. The followers of the individual hopefully become fans of the soap and that's very attractive to advertisers. I sometimes wonder whether celebrities write their own tweets. Nothing wrong with that, it's all big business now.
ReplyDeleteSome actors do their own social media but you're right that you can hire someone to do it and it's big business.
DeleteFrom what I've understood, the Corrie actors get paid per episode. I'm sure some get paid more per than others but when you've got someone like David who has been in it a lot, it adds up. I would expect some of the more senior actors have a guaranteed number of episodes per year.
ReplyDeleteJack P Sheppard brings everything that is required and more. I am glad that his pay packet reflects his contribution to the show.
ReplyDeleteI hope that we have him for many years to come. Looks good on him!
Given the status Rivers' landlord has, to say nothing of general popularity, I'm very surprised Simon Gregson is on less than Michael Le Vell. It's got to be down to the latter having had a few more years on the show.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I meant 'Rovers''. Damned Autocorrect!
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