The BBC has come under fire after it emerged that Songs of Praise is paying skilled singers just £55 per day to perform.
Members of a cathedral choir due to be featured on the iconic programme have hit out at the 'insulting' fee being paid for their services.
They claim the corporation has previously agreed to pay £214 for a day's singing - more than four times the payment currently being offered.
Three episodes of Songs of Praise will be filmed next month at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, featuring the 900-year-old church's highly respected professional choir.
Outcry: Singers at Llandaff Cathedral, pictured, say they are being underpaid for appearing on Songs of Praise
But its singers have complained that the £110 they will receive for taking part in the two-day filming session is not enough, and have called for the production company which makes the programme to increase the fee.
The daily rate of £55 translates into an annual salary of just £14,300, well below the national average wage of £26,500.
'The fee offered to members of the choir for singing in these programmes is £110 - considerably less than the rate agreed between the BBC and my union Equity,' said chorister Adam Poole.
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'It seems to me there is an attempt to deprive choir members of the fees they are entitled to.'
Fellow choir member Matthew Mudge, who has been singing for 17 years, said: 'The BBC TV agreement with Equity says choir members should be paid £214 for a daily session of up to five hours.
'But the recording is taking place over two days so people should be paid two daily fees.
'I think it's pretty insulting to expect members of the choir to sing for less money than they are entitled to. I can't imagine them expecting the choir of St Paul's Cathedral in London to perform cut-price.'
Iconic: Songs of Praise is filmed at a number of notable churches and cathedrals across the UK; a previous edition of the programme is pictured here
The Cardiff episodes of Songs of Praise is being produced by Welsh television production Avanti, and will be screened on BBC One.
The choir of Llandaff Cathedral, which has toured around the capitals of Europe, is the only professional Anglican cathedral choir in Wales.
Its lay members receive a monthly salary from the diocese in return for performing at six services a week.
The dean of the cathedral has insisted that despite singers' protests it would be 'an honour' to host Songs of Praise, and argued that participants should not seek to profit from the recording.
'It is a privilege for Llandaff Cathedral as it allows us to share our worship with millions of viewers across the UK and beyond,' Janet Henderson said.
'It's a low-budget programme and we are not taking part in order to profit financially.
'At present, the form of the programme and the musical items are still being considered and no final decision has been taken about which musicians will be taking part.'
A BBC spokesman said: 'The independent production company which is producing this recording for Songs of Praise are still in discussion with the Cathedral about the choir's involvement and the fees involved that will be in line with agreed industry rates.'