The cast of the upcoming Celebrity Traitors series are reportedly receiving £40,000 each to take part, a combined fee that vastly outweighs the £100,000 prize pot up for grabs for charity.
Set to air later this year on BBC One, the celebrity spin-off of the hit game show will feature a stacked line-up of famous faces, including Alan Carr, Charlotte Church, Stephen Fry and Kate Garraway.
The format will follow the same rules as the original, with contestants secretly assigned as either “Traitors” or ‘Faithfuls” as they compete for the grand prize, which will be donated to charity.
But according to journalist Marina Hyde, the stars won’t be walking away empty-handed, even if they don’t win.
Hyde compared the show’s production value and costs to ITV’s long-running I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, saying the BBC series had secured “massive” names for its debut celebrity season.
On the latest episode of The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, Hyde told co-host Richard Osman: “It’s certainly interesting to compare something like Celebrity Traitors on the BBC to I’m a Celebrity on ITV.
“Although we haven’t seen the celebrity iteration yet, but we know it’s gonna be massive. Look at the calibre of the people they got.”
Osman then mentioned he'd spoken to someone who previewed the first episode and called it "apparently amazing".
Hyde then went on to reveal more about what the stars were being paid.
“For that, they were able to pay everybody a blanket 40k fee, right? I am spilling all my tea today. They’re paying them a 40k fee,” she shared.
If each of the 19 confirmed contestants is receiving the same £40,000 fee, the BBC will be spending at least £760,000 on talent alone, more than seven times the amount going to charity.
Still, that number is a fraction of what ITV is known to offer. Last year, it was reported that Coleen Rooney received £1.5 million to appear in the jungle.
Former boxing champion Barry McGuigan and ex-football manager Harry Redknapp were both said to have earned around £500,000 for their respective stints on the show.
The Standard has contacted BBC for comment.
