Lily Allen says women on TV should be paid more than men as they have a ‘short shelf life’

Lily Allen has waded into the gender pay gap debate, claiming women working on camera should earn more than men because they have a “short shelf life”.

The 32-year-old singer said female stars on TV should take home wages similar to Premier League footballers, whose careers often end in their late 30s.

Allen made the comment on Twitter in response to Newsnight presenter Evan Davis who argued equal pay for the same work in showbiz ‘doesn’t make sense’.

He argued: “No junior actor working alongside Tom Cruise should expect to get the same pay as him. I would not have expected to get the same as John Humphrys when I joined the Today programme.”

Allen tweeted: “Women working on screen sadly have a shelf life not dissimilar to that of a premiership footballers (happy to be proven wrong) till that changes, their pay should reflect that.

“They should get more than their male counterparts, or men should get less than them, rather.”

The tweet proved divisive with some branding her “bonkers” while others listed actresses including Dame Helen Mirren and Dame Maggie Smith as examples of women who have enjoyed lengthy careers on screen.

One user begged: “Christ almighty, will you please say something sensible, just for once?”

Another tweeted: “So you want in-equality in your favour.”

Others defended her tweet with one posting: “Had never thought about it that way, that’s a great shout, hopefully would change the culture of the 60 year old male acting with the 20 something love interest too, which has become pure cringe.”

Davies’ comments come amid the ongoing gender pay row at the BBC which saw the broadcaster's China editor Carrie Gracie quit over a pay disparity between male and female employees.

She accused the corporation of a “secretive and illegal pay culture” after it was revealed two-thirds of its stars earning more than £150,000 were male.