BBC Radio 4 presenter Sarah Montague has said she was “incandescent with rage” and “felt like a sap” when she learned she was paid far less than her Today programme co-stars.

The broadcaster has now left Today to become the lead presenter of the radio station’s World At One. She said had she negotiated a better salary by using “the pay of previous presenters as a guide”.

Montague, 52, swapped her Today role with Martha Kearney, who was revealed last year to be earning between £200,000 and £249,999.

A key member of the hosting team for 17 years, Montague said she was paid £133,000.

Salaries revealed by the BBC in July last year showed Today programme host John Humphrys was earning £600,000 to £649,000.

After initially thinking she might feel good for “taking less of the licence fee than others”, Montague said she “felt a sap” for “subsidising other people’s lifestyles”.

She added: “I had long suspected that I was paid much less than my colleagues but until the pay disclosures I had no idea of the scale of that difference.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “As we’ve made clear previously, the BBC is committed to closing our gender pay gap by 2020, and the figures show we are already performing better than most other media companies.

“We have also said that we want to introduce a clear and transparent pay framework for the future.”