Comedian Sandi Toksvig has revealed that she is paid less than half of Stephen Fry’s fee as the host of BBC show QI.

Toksvig took over from Stephen Fry in 2015 and also currently co-presents Great British Bake Off on Channel 4.

Toksvig revealed the pay gap when she was answering a question the Women’s Equality party conference in Kettering. According to The Observer  she said that she believes she is paid 40% of the fee paid to Fry and is paid the same regular panellist Alan Davies. According to reports she didn't actually say what her fee for the BBC programme is.

According to the Observer the revelation was greeted with a “huge gasp” from delegates. Toksvig added later that she felt that she had to answer the question “because the issues with equal pay and the gender pay gap cut right across the media and all industries and all areas of life. Until now I had held back from talking about this because this is not about me. However, the lack of transparency around pay is a big part of the problem and I hope that being open, I can support women whose work is undervalued.”

Editor's note: I didn't rush to publish this story when it first broke because I felt that there was more to it and I was hoping to establish mre details regarding the following points:

Firstly I'm not sure if this is about gender. Toksvig was new to the job, Fry fronted 180 episodes. Maybe his fee had increased during his time in the chair. I'd like to know how Toksvig's salary compares to Fry's intial salary. Will whoever lands Chris Evans' job at Radio 2 get the same salary as Evans? Whether his successor is male or female I doubt it.

Secondly Toksvig mentioned that she is being paid the same as Alan Davies - he has been doing the job for a long time, maybe he should be cheesed off that he isn't getting as big a pay cheque as Stephen Fry. If it's about gender how come he is earning less than another man?

It's a complicated story - maybe more will emerge in the next few days.