How much time do you spend watching TV? It’s pretty easy to get emotionally involved and to form attachments to characters, especially if you’re in the middle of a box set boasting hundreds of episodes. If you’ve become obsessed with certain characters or you feel like they have become friends or foes, you may be wondering how they would function in the real world and how realistic their TV existence really is. When you watch programmes, have you ever thought about how that character could afford their lifestyle?

The infographic below gives an interesting insight into the kinds of salaries popular TV figures would command if they were doing a job in the real world. The top earner is Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory, a junior professor and physicist, who would earn around £108,000 or $143,000 per year. At the other end of the scale, you’ll find baker’s apprentice, Hot Pie, who would take home £6,720 or $15,368. For all those who ever wondered how much David Brent would earn for managing The Office, or more accurately, berating his staff and blowing his own trumpet, the expected salary is £24, 073. Absolutely Fabulous’ outrageous PR director, Edina Monsoon would bring home £83,500 and Irish priest, Father Ted, would command wages worth £24,358. If you’re a fan of Stranger Things, you may be interested to learn that supermarket cashier, Joyce Byers, would earn approximately £16,700. Vet Beth Smith has an estimated salary of £44,000 while Broadchurch’s industrious detective DS Ellie Miller would earn around £44,000. Now that you’ve got the figures, you can see how your salary stacks up in comparison.

Infographic designed by How Much Money Would These TV Characters Make In Real Life?