The five original cast members of The Big Bang Theory are reportedly taking a pay cut in order to help two of their female co-stars get raises.

According to Variety, Jim Parsons (Sheldon), Johnny Galecki (Leonard), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh) and Simon Helberg (Howard) each offered to drop their pay from $1 million (approximately £814,000) per episode to $900,000 (£732,000).

The money saved would be split between Mayim Bialik (who plays Amy) and Melissa Rauch (who plays Bernadette) – who currently earn $200,000 (£163,000) per episode and joined the show in the third series.

The Big Bang Theory cast could take pay cuts to support their female co-stars