Last updated 19:46, Thursday, 07 August 2008

IT’S OKAY to complain in generalities, but a different story when you are talking about individuals.

I have ranted on at great length about the obscenely exorbitant salaries that so called “personalities” and sports people get compared to those who do the real work in society.

So why am I on Carol Vorderman’s side?

She is leaving Countdown, Channel 4’s longest running television programme, because bosses have asked her to take a 90 per cent cut in her salary.

A 90 per cent cut in a salary of somewhere around £800,000 a year is still a lot of money compared to what the rest of us earn.

If this was her starting out, even on something like £100,000, I would be here complaining about how indecent it was to pay that amount for someone to put a few letters and numbers on a board.

But being paid an indecent amount in the first place is totally different to being asked to take a salary cut of 90 per cent.

According to newspaper reports, she offered to take a third less as television executives tried to cut the Countdown budget by a similar amount.

I think she must have felt slapped in the face. If my boss came to me tomorrow and said he was cutting my salary I would be horrified.

Let me rush to tell you that - even though you and I know that I deserve it - I do not get paid the same amount as Carol Vorderman. In fact, I am hoping she sees this column and gives me money for sticking up for her!

If my boss said he was cutting my salary and I could like it or leave, I would feel very unappreciated, to say the least.

The TV bosses are effectively telling her that 26 years of loyalty counts for nothing.

“Thank you for all you’ve done, but goodbye,” they’re saying.

We don’t really know what is going on behind the scenes, of course, and therefore we can’t judge properly.

But I really do feel sorry for the woman.

And the first thing I would want to know is: are the Channel 4 bosses also taking a 90 per cent cut in salary?

And while we are on salary cuts, is there anyone in the oil or energy companies willing to share in our pain?

My husband filled my car for me this morning at a cost of £55. Two years ago it cost £22.

Now we are being told that energy bills will be up more than 20 per cent and there could be more rises before Christmas.

At the same time the Government is trying to tell us that we shouldn’t be making big pay demands and that we have to keep calm.

Why us? It is the workers and the beneficiaries who seem to be the Carol Vordermans of the world. They are struggling to keep up with daily price rises with below inflation wage hikes while BP sits on a multi-billion-pound profit and the energy companies try to convince us that their massive profits have nothing to do with the prices they are charging us.

I think Carol Vorderman should meet Channel 4 halfway. If Countdown is struggling and she wants to continue to be on the show, she has to take the rough with the smooth, the cuts with the cash bonanzas.

But halfway is as far as she should go - and halfway is as far as the rest of us should go.

We have to accept that there is a credit crunch and we might have to tighten our belts. But leave us with belts to tighten!

We will do our bit and we will not even complain as long as we can see that someone else is doing theirs.

We would pay a bit extra for petrol if petrol tax came down a little.

We would put on an extra jersey rather than turning on the heater if we thought that vulnerable people would not be left to freeze to death.

We would do our part if the fat cats did theirs.

But, until then, I think we should have a national day of sympathy for Carol Vorderman.