Milly Veitch
Sharon Osbourne finally said goodbye to the Celebrity Big Brother house this week, after becoming the show’s first ‘celebrity lodger’.
The X Factor icon, 71, had a shorter stay in the house with extra privileges due to her eye-watering fee.
Insiders told The Sun that her fee was too high for ITV for her to stay the full length, so she stayed eight days.
It was reported she will be taking home an astonishing £100,000 for every day she was in there, meaning she allegedly will pocket £800,000.
MailOnline takes a look at the stars who have bagged the highest pay outs for their stints on reality TV shows over the years.
His controversial political views have changed the face of Britain and divided the nation with his fans hailing him a ‘hero’ while many others brand him ‘toxic scum’.
But Nigel Farage managed to use his notoriety to score himself the largest pay check for a celebrity appearance on reality TV.
The former Ukip leader and Brexit Party founder, 59, was paid a staggering £1.5million for his time on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
He appeared on the latest series last year and reached the final, finishing third behind Tony Bellew and Sam Thompson.
Nigel lasted for 23 days in the jungle, during which he faced a number of critters and ate a camel’s anus and crocodile penis.
He claimed he signed up to the show in a bid to change the public’s perception of him and prove he isn’t ‘nasty’ and a ‘little Englander’.
David Gest – £600,000
David Gest was Celebrity Big Brother’s highest paid celebrity ever – getting £600,000 for his stint on the show in 2016.
The American film producer starred on the 17th series of the show alongside Tiffany Pollard, Jonathan Cheban, Danniella Westbrook, Gemma Collins, Darren Day and Jeremy McConnell, but he left after 13 days for medical reasons.
Angie Bowie, who was married to pop icon David Bowie for 10 years, was told off-camera about the singer’s passing from cancer.
Angie returned to the house, clearly upset about the news, and told EastEnders actor John Partridge about it, asking him to keep it to himself.
She also told Gest, who was in fact feeling unwell during his time on the show, and had took himself off to bed.
Angie decided to then tell Tiffany, only for the US reality star to assume ‘David’s dead’ meant she was referring to Gest – who was bedridden at the time.
Sadly Gest passed away aged 62 in April of that same year, just months after appearing on the show.
Before Nigel Farage entered the jungle last year, Noel Edmonds held the record for I’m A Celebrity’s highest paid contestant.
The Deal Or No Deal star, 75, received £600,000 for appearing on the show in 2018, and had high hopes for a lengthy stay, even claiming he would quit TV if he won.
However, in an ironic twist due to his high price tag, Noel actually had the shortest stint in the camp during his series.
He entered the show last and then failed to win over the public, becoming the first star to be voted out, leaving him ‘astonished’.
He told Lorraine: ‘I was hoping to hang around for a little bit longer. I hadn’t even actually got into my stride.’
Due to his short 11-day stint, Noel earned over £54K a day – around £2,272 per hour.
Caitlyn Jenner – £500,000
Keeping Up With The Kardashians star Caitlyn Jenner was reportedly paid a whopping £500,000 to appear on the series.
The Olympic gold decathlete, 74, shocked viewers when she was announced as a campmate in 2019.
She struck up an iconic friendship with Nadine Coyle and Jacqueline Jossa during her time on the show and dropped many stories about the Kardashians.
However, Caitlyn was the only star to not be greeted by friends or family when she was voted off the ITV show as they weren’t able to jet out to meet her.
Harry Redknapp – £500,000
Harry Redknapp became the King of the Jungle in 2018 after winning the hearts of the nation on I’m A Celebrity.
The football manager, 77, was also reportedly paid a mammoth £500,000 to appear on the series.
Harry is now said to be the most popular contestant to ever have appeared on the series.
Speaking after his win, Harry said: ‘I’m amazed I survived three weeks to be honest with you.’
Boy George – £500,000
ITV spared no expense when it came to signing stars for the 2022 series of I’m A Celebrity, as they spend a whopping £2.1million on the star-studded line-up.
The highest paid star that year was pop star Boy George, who took home £500,000 and was the fourth campmate to be eliminated.
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline ahead of entering the jungle, he said: ‘I feel like I’ve been paid well for it so I’m going to be as Boy George as I can.’
However, in July last year, Boy George said he wished he had demanded an even higher fee on £1 million to go on.
Speaking to the Sun, he said: ‘I was rumoured to have been the highest-paid contestant ever. But if I’d known what I’d go through, I’d have charged double.
‘I don’t know what possessed me to do it. It’s a show you watch from the comfort of your own home, not one you actually sign up for.’
Katie Price – £500,000
Katie Price made a shock late entrance to the Celebrity Big Brother house during the 15th series in 2015.
But despite her late arrival, Katie, 45, soared to victory and reportedly earned a whopping £500,000 for her appearance.
She beat out controversial TV personality Katie Hopkins to take the win that series – with Hopkins later slamming her win as a ‘con’.
‘There’s no part of Katie Price that deserved to win,’ Hopkins told the Daily Star Sunday at the time. ‘She’s just a nobody with a pair of t**s – and those t**s aren’t that great either.’
Price clapped back at Hopkins, branding her ‘vile’ and claiming the columnist had appeared ‘excited’ to meet her when she entered the house.
Ian Wright – £400,000
Footballing legend Ian Wright is also one of I’m A Celebrity’s highest-paid stars, and was the second highest contestant in 2019, behind Caitlyn.
The ex-Arsenal and England striker reportedly earned £400,000 for his appearance on the show, where he was eliminated fifth.
But he later admitted in 2020 that he regretted his appearance, feeling that the bosses let him down through the editing.
He told Red Magazine: ‘To be totally honest, if I could take that time back I would.
‘They let me down by not showing the whole picture of who I am. We had so many brilliant in-depth conversations that were never shown.
‘People sometimes see this persona of me where I don’t seem like I’m vulnerable but I’ve always been a person in touch with my emotions.
‘I’m never far away from feeling like I could cry. I have very deep feelings that I’ve had to learn to deal with, but I still have my moments.’
During his time in the jungle Ian came under fire along with James Haskell, as fans accused them of ‘ganging up’ on comedian Andrew Maxwell.
Kellie Maloney – £400,000
Kellie Maloney was said to be the highest paid celebrity on 2014’s Celebrity Big Brother – reportedly raking in £400,000.
The boxing promoter, 71, who is transgender, later revealed that her stint on the show helped her daughters see her as a woman.
Opening up about her relationship with daughters Sophie and Libby after leaving the house, Kellie revealed it had brought them closer.
‘After nearly two years of living alone and as a recluse away from my family I can’t believe what has happened,’ she told the Daily Mirror at the time.
She added: ‘When I left Big Brother I told the girls I was buying a flat on the Kent coast and they said, “Why don’t you come back to live closer to home? We can have two homes then”.’
Amir Khan – £400,000
Amir Khan first appeared in the Australian jungle in 2017 in which he was the seventh contestant booted out of camp, with Georgia Toffolo going on to win.
The pro boxer reportedly earned around £400,000 for his time on series 17, where he became best known for strawberry-gate.
The moment saw Amir and Iain Lee eat the Dingo Dollar prize of strawberries and cream by themselves and lying to the rest of camp.
Despite Amir goading Iain into the act, after Iain confessed to the camp, Amir allowed everyone to believe it was Iain’s idea and place the blame on him.
Amir later returned to I’m A Celebrity’s All Stars spin-off in South Africa last year and was voted out by his own campmates in a show first.
Matt Hancock – £320,000
Matt Hancock was paid more than £300,000 for his controversial stint on I’m A Celebrity in 2022.
The former Health Secretary, 45, made it all the way to the grand final on the popular ITV reality competition alongside Jill Scott and Owen Warner.
Details of his registered interests published on the House Of Commons website revealed that Matt was paid £320,000 by Lifted Entertainment for the show.
Matt, who was still a serving MP while on the show, was paid the salary on December 14 2022 for his stint in the Australian jungle, details registered on January 11 2023 showed.
Before his appearance on the programme, Matt’s spokesperson said he would be donating more than his MPs salary to charity as he faced backlash for being paid for the show.
They confirmed that Matt would be making a donation to St Nicholas Hospice in his constituency and causes supporting dyslexia.
Jonathan Cheban – £300,000
Kim Kardashian’s friend Jonathan Cheban was one of the stars in arguably the show’s most iconic casts – series 15.
The American reality star, 50, took home £300,000 for his time on the show alongside highest paid star Gest.
Jonathan was again set to enter the house the following year in 2017 – but was axed from the show after demanding £100,000 a day.
He took part in intense negotiations with the CBB team the following day which ended in feisty disagreement.
Sir Mo Farah – £300,000
Sir Mo Farah secured a whopping £300,000 fee for his first reality TV appearance in 2020.
The Olympic gold medalist placed fifth in the series which took place at Wales’ Gwrych Castle in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘The ITV executives were desperate to bag Mo and will have spent big to get their man,’ an insider told The Sun.
‘It’s a massive coup for producers to get Mo for the series. Everyone’s really excited about the signing and think he’ll be a hit with viewers.
‘It’s the first time he’s agreed to do anything like this, so it’ll be a massive draw for sports fans.’
Janice Dickinson – £300,000
Janice Dickinson entered Celebrity Big Brother in 2015 on the second day, before being evicted on day 27.
The star, 69, was greeted by a sea of cheers as she made her exit from the Channel 5 competition after bagging £300,000 for her appearance.
However, she suffered a wardrobe malfunction when her microphone fell into her underwear, with her modesty only being saved by an advertisement break.
Stephanie Pratt – £250,000
The Hills reality TV star Stephanie Pratt was another high paid celeb to grace the Big Brother house.
Stephanie, 37, found romance with George Gilbey during her time in the house – but after being evicted she was left heartbroken when he moved on.
But her time in the house during series 14 was definitely not for nothing, as she was paid a hefty fee of £250,000.
Danniella Westbrook – £250,000
Another star to feature on the iconic 2016 series, Danniella Westbrook was paid £250,000 for her stint.
The actress, 50,memorably broke out of the house twice with Gemma Collins during her time as a housemate after fights with Stephanie Davis.
But in 2023, Danniella admitted she was doing ’11 bags’ of cocaine per day in the lead up to entering the house.
Speaking on the podcast, Danniella told how ‘no one’ knew of the extent of her addiction at the time.
Ulrika Jonsson – £175,000
Ulrika Jonsson took part in Celebrity Big Brother in 2009 and went on to win the series, returning the following year for Ultimate Big Brother.
The Swedish-British presenter and model, 56, famously did not get along with Austin Powers star Verne Troyer during the show.
Speaking on their feud years later, she said: ‘The late Austin Powers actor Verne Troyer — who everyone seems to admire greatly — was actually not a particularly nice person.’
Christopher Biggins – £150,000
Christopher Biggins was a highly paid housemate despite actually being removed during his series in August 2016.
The actor, 75, was removed from the Celebrity Big Brother house after reportedly offending Jewish housemate Katie Waissel with an ‘anti Semitic’ joke.
The former X Factor star was reportedly ‘reduced to tears while other housemates looked on in shock’ following the comment.
Christopher was later called to the diary room and given a formal warning – and told he would be sent home, although he apologised.
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