CELEBRITY Big Brother bosses are hopping mad as, once again, Flying Eze revealed their top-secret star-studded line-up before launch night.
But there’s one thing the powers are even more desperate to keep under lock and key – exactly how much those famous faces are getting paid to enter the nation’s most famous house.
Unlike BBC‘s which pays all contestants the same flat fee of £25,000, CBB can command big bucks for being filmed 24/7.
But how much they each get paid varies wildly depending on what TV bosses deem the stars are worth.
And while the public is completely unaware of what goes into these secret salary negotiations, bookers work to a closely-guarded sliding scale that helps them easily pinpoint who deserves a whopping salary – going all the way up to seven figures.
Here, lifts the lid on who has earned what – and the hush hush reasons behind who banks what...
Mickey Rourke – £500k
While it was initially thought the bad boy would bank close to £1m for this series, the actual figure is around half of that.
This still makes The Wrestler star the highest paid celebrity walking through the famous doors this series, but it’s a far cry from the netted for just eight days in the house as a ‘celebrity lodger’ last year.
So why has Mickey commanded the most? Well, he’s the biggest name on a global scale, and his controversial reputation as a wild child only helps hoick his fee.
Bosses are hoping he’ll deliver the kind of shock moments that Dennis Rodman, Gary Busey, Michael Madsen and Tara Reid brought to their respective series.
A source reveals: “Mickey is considered a loose cannon, and producers think he is worth getting their big cheque book out for. He is unpredictable, and they know lots of people will tune in to see if he cracks under the pressure.”;
The reason he’s not raking in closer to the magic million, however, is because his popularity is on the wane compared to his mid-noughties renaissance.
Our insider adds: “Back in 2008, he had the world at his feet again with an nomination for The Wrestler, but since then, he has had a string of straight-to-streaming flops. Ten years ago, he would have made even more money for signing up.”;
JoJo Siwa – £400k
The former child star turned pop princess is the second-highest-paid housemate.
Again, she’s an international name like Mickey, which bumps up her fee, but there’s the added fact American stars simply don’t get out of bed for the same kind of salaries as their UK counterparts.
Our spy reveals: “US TV gigs generally pay a lot more than their UK counterparts, so JoJo’s team will expect a minimum amount of money on the table to even consider the offer from CBB bosses.
“She can easily earn in the six-figure range without leaving her home country, so uprooting her life to the UK for the best part of a month has to be worth it financially.”;
Another factor that helps bag JoJo the big bucks is her interesting backstory which is sure to grab the show headlines.
Not only has she grown up as a child star, which comes with all the colourful stories you’d expect, but she’s also openly pansexual and doesn’t hold back when talking about her sex life in interviews, so producers will pay for her to bring that to the table.
The source adds: “JoJo is also unapologetically herself and very in your face, she could well rub up some of the more reserved housemates the wrong way – and that’s exactly the kind of personality that will get the show to cough up.”;
Trisha Goddard – £200k
Out of all the British names in the pool, the chat show queen comes out on top.
Her £200k fee is down to her three decades on UK screens, making her a much-loved face along the lines of , who commanded a similar amount last series.
Our mole reveals: “Bosses think Trisha will do really well in the house and go far.
“She’s a great listener, honed by years presenting chat shows, but she’s also unafraid to share her opinions and as a seasoned broadcaster, knows the kind of controversial conversation topics to start that will create dynamite TV in the house.”;
Trisha also has a profile in the States, having fronted a daytime show there from 2012 to 2014, and is based in Connecticut, New Jersey, so that international element also boosts the money she’ll bag.
Daley Thompson – £150k
The double Olympic Gold winning decathlete has also netted a pretty penny for CBB, and is in the top half of earners.
“He’s British sporting royalty, and arguably considered Britain’s greatest athlete by many, and that comes with a certain price tag,”; our insider explains.
“He’s an old-school hero and, again, bosses expect him to have legs as a housemate.
“Daley also has a history of being outspoken on hot-button issues – he’s openly opposed to trans women competing against biological women in sports – and that’s just the kind of firecracker telly execs want in there.
“The more opinionated these household names are, the more they’re worth.”;
Daley has also weathered several public scandals, from a homophobia row in the 80s to once sparking backlash for whistling during the national anthem.
“While some have labelled Daley arrogant and cocky over the years, that’s exactly the kind of personality bosses are willing to splash that extra cash for.”;
Michael Fabricant – £120k
Politicians always come out towards the top end of the pay scale for reality shows, hence why Michael is bagging a fee in the £120k range.
Like most MPs that go on reality TV, he is a controversial figure, which warrants the salary.
He once branded a fellow constituent a “t***”; on social media, and he famously defended during partygate.
As a result he will be polarising both with his fellow housemates and viewers, which is what will allow him to ask for a low six-figure sum.”;
But his fee is nothing compared to the £320k and £1.5millon that the likes of and respectively bagged for I’m A Celeb.
“Michael isn’t at that level,”; explains our insider. “He’s more in the field, and George got a similar fee when he did the show back in the day.”;
Patsy Palmer – £100k
The going rate for a long-running soap legend like Patsy is £100k, explains our person in the know.
“Patsy is an Albert Square icon, so she gets more than one of the lower tier soap stars who hasn’t been in the public eye as long as she has.
“That said, she’s done a fair few reality shows over the years, including Dancing On Ice in 2023, so because she has done the rounds, that diminishes her exclusivity a little.
“Had this been her first foray into the reality game, she could have bagged herself closer to £200k.”;
Jack P Shepherd – £100k
Like Patsy, Jack is a stalwart of his soap, so commands the same payday as her.
“After 25 years on the cobbles, he has earnt a higher fee than the likes of relative newcomers like , who got around £70k for doing the last series.”;
One thing that stops Jack going even higher than the 100k mark, however, is he is unlikely to ruffle feathers in the house.
“He’s a decent name which will bring soap fans to the show, so bosses are willing to fork out a mid-level fee for him, but he’s very much your nice guy next door who has been in the business for years, so bosses know he’s unlikely to deliver the kind of explosive moments they’ll pay the biggest bucks for.
“Chances are, he’ll be the one everyone gets on with and coast to the final week.”;
Angellica Bell – £80k
The likeable presenter has been plugging away for 20 years now across a variety of mass market genres from kids TV to the cosy climes of and harder hitting consumer programmes.
As a result, she has a wide fan base from young to old – from viewers who have grown up with her to those who discovered her when she ventured into primetime waters – netting her a salary in the high five-figures.
“Normally, someone who has been in the industry as long as Angellica might get in the six figure zone, but she lacks the controversy or scandal that would garner those higher price points.
“She has proved she’s a force to be reckoned with in reality formats, however, thanks to her win on in 2017, so that would have helped her agent negotiate a healthy figure based on her popularity.”;
Chris Hughes – £45k
Our insider spills: “It’s been some time since Chris’s hey day, which puts him in the lower end of earners this series.
“The likes of Ekin-Su last year bagged over £100k, but that’s because she was still riding high on the wave of her villa fame at the time, plus she’d just broken up with fellow Islander Davide, so bosses paid more in the hope she’d spill on that.”;
Also, while Chris has parlayed his post villa fame into a successful career doing racing commentary for ITV, he hasn’t scaled the dizzy heights of his former flame , who, with her successful documentary franchises and hit podcasts, is a much bigger hitter in the reality hierarchy.
Danny Beard – £30k
The former winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK may seem like a niche signing to some, but Drag Race has a feverish fanbase that overlaps greatly with the CBB audience.
“Danny’s fee might seem higher than his level of fame, but drag queens don’t come cheap,”; says our insider.
“They can earn huge money from tours and club appearances, so unless they’re getting paid in the £30k region, they don’t need to bother.
“Bosses also know that he’ll bring the sort of high camp drama that the likes of and have brought in the past, so they think he’s worth the cash – even if not everyone has heard of him.”;
Donna Preston – £30k
Like Danny, Donna may not get the tabloid column inches that the likes of some of her housemates get – even lesser paid ones like Ella Rae Wise – but there are several reasons why she is pocketing £30,000.
“Comedians are always good value in the house, so bosses want them in there to bring the laughs, but Donna also has a sassy, spiky side that they believe raises her worth.
“She often makes near the knuckle gags and isn’t worried about who she offends, and the top brass love her bold, outspoken confidence.”;
Adding to her worth is the fact that she is a familiar face to CBB audiences thanks to regular appearances on sister show, Late & Live.
“Big Brother loves to keep it in the family and it’s die-hard fanbase appreciate seeing their favourite faces come back- getting Donna to agree to go into the house was a real boon as she is very popular with audiences.”;
Chesney Hawkes – £25k
Chesney is the second-lowest earner of the bunch this year, and here’s why.
“He’s a very sweet guy, and everyone loves, or loves to hate, his 90s hit The One and Only, but he’s something of a novelty booking,”; explains our well-placed source.
“He’s been doing the rounds of the student unions for years, and while everyone loves a bit of cheese, he’s not rarely-seen or reclusive, which makes him less of a coup.”;
Flying Eze also understands that Chesney isn’t in it for the cash.
According to someone close to the singer, he’s doing it for the publicity.
“Chesney wants to relaunch his music career and this is the perfect platform for him to do that on,”; says the mole.
Ella Rae Wise – £20k
Poor Ella has come out at the bottom of this year’s bunch, and that’s a lot to do with her reality TV roots.
“ITV like to have a Towie star in the mix for cross-brand promotion, but the show doesn’t hold the pulling power it once did.”
While the likes of and bagged six-figure paydays when they did the show a decade ago, they were Towie OGs at a time when the shenanigans were in their prime.
Ella has also done other, less premium reality shows, like MTV’s , which prevents her from nabbing the kind of wage that former Love Island stars, for example, might net.
“Megan McKenna, who has also done Towie and Ex on The Beach, went into the house back in 2016 and got £30k, but that was nearly ten years ago,”; clarifies our expert.
When it comes to booking reality stars for CBB, a lot of it comes down to social media followers, too, adds the source.
“Ella has around 340k followers on – while this is decent, it’s a far cry from Chris Hughes’ 2 million, or Ekin-Su’s 4.3million.”;
When approached by Flying Eze for comment, an ITV spokesperson said: “We would never comment on speculation around contracts or salaries.”;
