I’m A Celebrity stars have earned a fortune from appearing on the ITV reality show over the years, but how much are the highest-paid campmates really paid to head to the jungle?
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! 2025 is nearly here, with a fresh line-up of famous faces preparing to tackle Ant and Dec’s stomach-churning Bushtucker trials in the Australian jungle.
The ITV reality programme has been a television staple for over two decades, featuring countless celebrities including Katie Price, Stacey Solomon, Gemma Collins, Caitlyn Jenner, Jamie Lynn Spears, Matt Hancock and Nigel Farage.
This year’s contestants include Emmerdale star Lisa Riley, Loose Women panellist Kelly Brook, Martin Kemp and Eddie Kadi, Alex Scott, Shona McGarty, Jack Osbourne and Aitch – who is thought to be banking £250,000 for his appearance.
A producer for I’m A Celebrity has hinted this will be the “toughest” series to date, with Olly Nash revealing: “We need to see more celebrities earning their keep, that’s the most important thing.” But what are the stars actually being paid for their three-week jungle stint? We’ve investigated the programme’s biggest pay packets….
Coleen Rooney reportedly secured the joint highest-ever fee in the show’s history when she joined last year’s series, following her high-profile Wagatha Christie court battle with Rebekah Vardy. The WAG was rumoured to have pocketed £1.5million, and demonstrated her value as viewers voted to keep her in until the finale.
She narrowly missed out on victory to McFly’s Danny Jones, whilst Reverend Richard Coles claimed third spot. Nigel Farage also reportedly pocketed £1.5million for his stint on I’m A Celebrity in 2023, where he finished third whilst Sam Thompson was crowned King of the Jungle.
The reality star later confessed he was stunned by Farage’s earnings, telling The Times: “Was he? Bloody hell! I didn’t have a clue. You could buy five houses for that!”
He insisted his jungle experience wasn’t driven by money or career ambitions, saying: “Mate, I would have done it for anything! I would have been a very, very easy negotiation. I would have paid them to be on it.”
Noel Edmonds famously became the programme’s highest-paid participant at the time, despite spending just nine days in the jungle camp during the 2018 series. He received £600,000, and having arrived last before being voted out first, reportedly earned £66,667 per day. That series was won by Harry Redknapp, who became the programme’s oldest winner when he was crowned King of the Jungle.
Initial reports suggested Boy George, who appeared in the 2022 series, was receiving £800,000 for I’m A Celebrity, though that figure was later revised to £500,000. He promised to give bosses value for money and certainly delivered, saying: “I feel like I’ve been paid well for it so I’m going to be as Boy George as I can.”
However, just months before, the Karma Chameleon hitmaker had suggested he’d “never” need to appear on the programme for financial reasons, when Ant and Dec asked him on Saturday Night Takeaway: “I’ve always wanted to know, what does Karma Chameleon mean?” He responded: “It means I never have to say, ‘I’m a celebrity, get me out of here!'”.
Rumours circulated that Caitlyn Jenner pocketed £500,000 for her appearance on I’m A Celebrity in 2019, with Ant and Dec making light of her fee. Dec started off by saying: “We’ve got reality TV royalty Caitlyn Jenner. Most people come into the jungle to lose a few pounds..”
Ant chimed in with: “But she’s going to be gaining 500,000 of them according to the papers.”
Harry Redknapp, the 2018 King of the Jungle, was reportedly paid £500,000 for his stint on I’m A Celebrity, and later claimed ITV offered him double what the BBC did for Strictly Come Dancing. He revealed: “What happened was I’m a Celebrity came and offered me twice as much money so I went there instead!”.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! is back on Sunday at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
Source: Mirror
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