With Celebrity Big Brother set to make a return here is a look at the show’s biggest payouts over the years.
While no celebs or broadcasters have officially ever said how much housemates are paid, a number of reports have claimed the (often ridiculous) amounts some names have received over the years.
Louis Walsh
Reported fee: £850,000
X Factor judge Louis Walsh claims he was paid close to £850,000 to appear on Celebrity Big Brother’s first series on ITV1.
“They said they really, really wanted me. They kept on at me, and still I said no, because I was scared. I don’t want to be a celebrity,” he shared after finishing fourth in the final.
Revealing his staggering £850,000 pay, Louis added: “They paid me a lot of money.”
Ray J
Reported fee: £800,000
US musician Ray reportedly enjoyed a mega pay day thanks to Celebrity Big Brother with a rumoured $1 million fee (around £800,000) plus expenses to fly into the UK.
However it’s not clear how much of this he actually got after unexpectedly leaving the series a week in.
Following the series, there was a legal battle over the fee. In 2017, Ray J’s rep David Weintraub said: “We are in a continued legal battle with them over the remaining payments that are owed to him. They owe him 250 thousand US dollars.”
Stormy Daniels
Reported fee: £750,000
American porn actress Stormy, at the centre of controversy surrounding president Donald Trump, had been booked to appear on the show in 2018.
However, she pulled out hours before the series launched. During an interview on ITV’s Loose Women, Stormy said her decision to back out was down to an ongoing custody battle involving her daughter.
“Being a mum comes first,” Stormy said, “and I wanted to be able to talk to her with everything going on.”
Appearing on Bit On The Side, Rylan gave Big Brother’s version of what went down: “5 hours before the live shows, Stormy informed us she wished to simply appear on launch night and leave. Big Brother tried to work out a fair compromise with her but for Big Brother, launch night is about moving into the house and not celebrities moving out.”
Speidi
Reported fee: £600,000
Duo Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag supposedly enjoyed a mega pay deal when they returned to the Celebrity Big Brother house for its All Star special.
The duo – who first appeared in 2013 – were said to have agreed a £600,000 fee for their second stay in the house.
David Gest
Reported fee: £600,000
The late David Guest also tops the list of highest paid celeb housemates with a supposed fee of $1 million, like Ray J, although this worked out to be notably less before Brexit worth around £600,000.
Again like Ray J, it’s not clear how much David would’ve actually been paid after being forced to quit due to illness, instead getting a ‘per day’ fee for the duration of his stay.
Tragically, David passed away from a stroke in April of 2016 shortly after his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother.
Sharon Osbourne
Reported fee: £500,000
Sharon Osbourne reportedly got £100,000 a DAY for a short stint in Celebrity Big Brother’s rebooted series on ITV1.
The music manager reunited with fellow X Factor judge Louis Walsh in the house, but wasn’t be a full housemate. Instead, Sharon joined the show as a temporary house guest.
Katie Price
Reported fee: £500,000
Katie Price was rumoured for Celebrity Big Brother for years before eventually entering as a late housemate in January 2015.
Despite not taking part in the full series, Katie still topped the fees for that run and took home a reported £500,000 as well as the title of Celebrity Big Brother winner.
Jedward
Reported fee: £500,000
X Factor twins Jedward were reportedly offered a combined £1 MILLION deal, working out at a nifty £500,000 each when they first appeared. The X Factor 2009 finalists took part in CBB back in 2011, the first series to air on Channel 5, and finished the run in third place.
The pair returned to the house in 2017 like Speidi but it’s not clear if they managed to agree any bigger deal second time around.
Katie Hopkins
Reported fee: £400,000
Professional media troll Katie Hopkins is said to have scooped a hefty £400,000 for her stint in Celebrity Big Brother for 2015’s January run, where she made the final.
Lowest paid celebs
So they’re the biggest fees, but very few celebs can command so much.
Some of the lower amounts paid out have included the reported £60,000 given to contestant Winston McKenzie, a former member of UKIP, while Corrie actor Bruce Jones is rumoured to have got just £15,000 back in 2013.
And in 2016 it was claimed that winner Stephen Bear had been paid only £12,000.
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