F1-loving Channel 4 boss Alex Mahon angers staff after putting in claims for nearly £27,000 in expenses within just FIVE months

Channel 4 boss Alex Mahon has infuriated staff at the troubled network by running up an eye-watering expenses bill of £26,855 in just five months.

Ms Mahon, who earned £1.2 million last year for her role as the broadcaster's chief executive, put in a claim for a £1,634 hotel stay when she jetted off to watch the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on September 3.

She spent a total of £4,182 on accommodation, which also included a stay in a lavish hotel at the Cannes Film Festival, for which she charged £1,631.

Ms Mahon's total spend for flights alone during the five-month period between May until the end of September came to £6,825. 

She was also gifted two tickets to the men's Wimbledon final in July. VIP tickets for the event can cost more than £8,000. 

A Channel 4 employee told The Mail on Sunday: 'It all feels a little bit tone deaf. Alex might try to deny it but the channel is not in great financial health, shows are being axed all over the place. As usual Alex does what she wants.'

Earlier this year it emerged that Ms Mahon, 50, attended the Oscars in Hollywood at C4's expense. 

She flew business class to Los Angeles and spent three nights in a hotel at a cost of more than £1,000 a night.

Ms Mahon's and her deputy, chief content officer Ian Katz, have come in for criticism for a series of costly flop programmes, along with their reputation for billing the channel for their flamboyant diary bookings. 

In June, this newspaper revealed Ms Mahon charged £20,762 expenses for four months from January 1. 

Earlier this year Channel 4 axed its rebooted reality show Four Weddings, medical documentary Rescue: Extreme Medics and series Naked Attraction.

A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: 'It is standard practice for employees to have costs covered by expenses when they are attending events, meetings and conferences on behalf of the organisation. 

'Channel 4 is funded entirely by its own commercial activities and receives no public funding.'