The past few months have been very exciting in the world of reality television, as BBC was made to reveal they pay an exuberant salary of £450,000+ to their onscreen stars. There was a lot of chatter about just how much money, £75m to be exact, channel 4 paid to poach the “Bake Off” from the BBC network.
Many were unhappy about the move, and while BBC conceded it could not match the offer from Channel 4, they will be buoyed up with the news that Mel, Sue, and Mary Berry have decided to remain loyal to their original employers. Channel 4 could soon be sweating over the money they’ve spent, after many fans vowed to switch off and never tune in again. £75m down the drain? Only time will tell.
With all of these juicy details in mind, leading credit broker Cash Lady has delved into the realms of reality TV, to reveal just how much BBC, ITV, and Channel 5 spend to get celebrities on their shows – Strictly Come Dancing, I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, and Celebrity Big Brother, and the results are staggering.
I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here
Starting with the show that sees celebrities flown out to a jungle, ITV was initially cagey about how much they spent on their superstars, but later revealed salary packages ranging from £70,000 – £300,000 per annum!
Not only that the celebrities were allowed to make large donations to a charity of their choice, had their tickets to and from the jungle paid for, and received bonuses.
Here’s the breakdown per contestant:
Spencer Matthews (Made in Chelsea) – £300,000
Susannah Constantine (Fashion Journalist) – £200,000
Chris Eubank (Boxer) – £200,000
Kieron Dyer (Footballer) – £200,000
Lady Colin Campbell (Writer) – £70,000
While the total costs remain unknown, what is certain is that Aunt Bessies was charged an incredible £6,000,000 for a three year sponsorship deal!
Celebrity Big Brother
While the show sees 14 celebrities and a whole host of other staff involved, Channel 5’s spending is markedly more reserved than that of ITV. The total sponsorship deal comes out to roughly £2,500,000.
The salary packages range from £12,000 to £150,000, the latter of which was controversially offered to Christopher Biggins, who was later kicked out of the show for inflammatory comments.
The revealed packages are:
Christopher Biggins (actor) – £150,000
Samantha Fox (glamour model) – £110,000
Grant Bovey (Anthea Turner’s ex spouse) – £100,000
Lewis Bloor (Reality TV) – £50,000
Heavy D (Reality TV) – £15,000
Stephen Bear (Reality TV) – £12,000
Strictly Come Dancing
The BBC was the only broadcaster of the three to disclose the entire pay structure for their programme, and have the lowest bill at £800,000.
All celebrities start out with a basic pay of £25,000, that increases to £40,000 for the next round, £60,000 for reaching the quarterfinals, £75,000 for the semifinals, and a grand £100,000 (plus the trophy) for the winner!
The breakdown for the show and the other two is given in the infographic below. What are your thoughts on the jaw dropping packages being paid to the reality stars? Read up more on the reveal here.
