Former BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker 'doesn't miss the network' and says 'things must change' after leaving for Channel 5 in '£1.5M deal'

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Dan Walker has said he 'does not miss the BBC' after leaving the broadcaster for Channel 5 in a reported £1.5M deal last year. 

The former Breakfast host, 46, also hit out at his former employer saying 'things must change' in order for it to survive in the modern world. 

Telling The Mirror: 'I miss the people, but I don't miss the BBC,' Dan worked for the iconic broadcaster for 13-years where he also hosted Football Focus and appeared on Strictly.

'I still love the BBC. I watch it and I'm still a passionate defender of what it does. And I think a media landscape without the BBC would be much bleaker. Do things need to change about the BBC? Yes'. 

Before adding: 'Do they need to be a bit more up-to-date in the way they do things? Probably'. 

Speaking out: Dan Walker, 46, has said he 'does not miss the BBC' after leaving the broadcaster for Channel 5 in a reported £1.5M deal last year

Throwback: The former breakfast host also hit out at his former employer saying 'things must change' in order for it to survive in the modern world  (Pictured with former colleague Sally Nugent)

According to The Sun, the star who reportedly earned £300,000 a year at the BBC, was unhappy when bosses refused to give him his own prime-time show.

A sources told the publication, Dan attempted to use Channel 5's eye-popping offer as leverage with BBC bosses in a bid to secure his own more high-profile show. 

The source said:  'He went to them to discuss his future after getting the offer from Channel 5 in the hope that they'd give him what he wanted to keep him on the breakfast show'.

'But they refused and were left raging.' 

He now hosts the news at 5pm four nights a week as well as presenting six hours of prime time shows every year. 

MailOnline have contacted Dan's representatives, Channel 5 and BBC for comment at the time. 

It comes after Louise Minchin revealed her 'deep shock' upon discovering her co-host Dan was being paid substantially more than her in 2017, a pay gap she spent her last four years at the Beeb fighting. 

She writes in her new book Fearless: Adventures With Extraordinary Women how she challenged bosses over the fact that she rarely ever led the programme with the first 'hello' or interview. 

New home: According to The Sun , the star who reportedly earned £300,000 a year at the BBC, was unhappy when bosses refused to give him his own prime-time show (pictured with new co-host Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije) 

Shock: It comes after Louise Minchin revealed her 'deep shock' upon discovering her co-host Dan was being paid substantially more than her in 2017, a pay gap she spent her last four years at the Beeb fighting

In the book she speaks of successfully challenging her BBC bosses about her co-presenter Dan Walker always being the one to say the show's first 'hello' and do the day's biggest interview — so from then on, it was even-stevens

She writes: 'I had noticed that almost every day my male colleague was given the prestigious task of saying hello at the top of each hour, introducing the programme and doing the first interview.

'Why was I always the second person to speak, even though I was older and more experienced? What message did it send to our female viewers?'

She adds: 'There it was: age-old, systemic discrimination built into the fabric of the programme.' 

After complaining that she never got to lead the morning show, she claims that she was dismissed until she revealed she had kept months worth of notes. 

She adds: 'He [the boss] never asked to see my notes and from that day it was set in stone: every other day, the woman on the sofa was allowed to lead the programme, to be in charge.'

In 2017, the BBC revealed the names of presenters earning more than £150,000 a year. While Minchin did not even make the list, her co-host Walker was well within range with a salary of £220,000-£229,999. 

She told the Times last month: 'It was this theatre curtain opening and I was like, ''Gosh, this is not my story. This is routinely happening across the board to my female colleagues.'' 

'And I was deeply shocked. So at that point I'd already started the process and I was like, ''I'm an endurance athlete, I'm going to dig in and I'm going to do this.'''

She spent years attempting to close the gap, with the help of her union. When she left in 2021, Minchin was earning no more than £189,999, while Walker was on around £295,000 - although he carried out extra presenting duties on BBC Sport. 

Minchin was initially replaced by Sally Nugent, who joined her co-host Walker - before he left to join Channel 5 last year.