Nigel Farage is about to establish a new record on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and the programme has yet to begin filming.
The former UKIP leader has headed out to Australia, where he will compete in Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly’s bushtucker trials with This Morning’s Josie Gibson, Sam Thompson, and Jamie Lynn Spears.
The official 2023 line-up was published only yesterday, and many have been disappointed by Farage’s involvement in the reality show, which saw former health secretary Matt Hancock come third last year.
They’ll be even less pleased to learn that Farage, 59, will allegedly receive £1.5 million for his jungle stint, making him the highest-paid campmate ever.
But who else is among the highest-paid I’m A Celebrity contestants?
Noel Edmonds
During his time in the jungle in 2018, former Deal or No Deal anchor Noel Edmonds became the highest-paid competitor.
While he only spent nine days, coming last and leaving first, he made £600,000.
That amounted to £66,667 each day.
Nonetheless, he left ‘disappointed’, saying: ‘This is in the top 10 life experiences for me. Please believe me, this is just about the finest production I’ve ever been involved with… It’s incredible, I’m humbled and proud to have been a part of it.’
Boy George
While it was first reported that Boy George was paid £800,000 for I’m A Celebrity, this figure was eventually reduced to £500,000.
‘I don’t ever step on stage thinking I’ll deliver a half-level performance,’ the Karma Chameleon hitmaker claimed ahead of his participation in the series.
‘I feel like I’ve been paid nicely for it so I’m going to be as Boy George as I can.’
Just a few months ago, he joked that his financial balance meant he didn’t need to participate in reality television shows for a paycheck.
Following some heated occurrences in the previous series, George was the fourth person to be evicted from the jungle.
Caitlyn Jenner
Caitlyn Jenner reportedly earned £500,000 from her participation on I’m A Celebrity in 2019.
Hosts Ant and Dec even took a playful jab at the charge, stating that although most celebs go into the jungle to lose pounds, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star would in fact be adding ‘500,000 of them’.
The Olympic champion, 74, was the sixth contender eliminated, with EastEnders actress Jacqueline Jossa going on to win.
She had previously been on the inaugural series of I’m A Celebrity in the United States in 2003.
Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp debuted on I’m A Celebrity with Edmonds in 2018, but he went on to win the competition and be dubbed King of the Jungle.
The athletic star was allegedly offered £500,000 to appear on the programme, making him the highest-paid competitor in the show’s then-18-year history.
Later, he claimed that ITV gave him twice as much money as the BBC did for Strictly Come Dancing, revealing: ‘What happened was I’m a Celebrity arrived and offered me twice as much money, so I went there instead!’
Ian Wright
Football icon Ian Wright is also one of I’m A Celebrity’s highest-paid stars, coming in second place behind Caitlyn Jenner in 2019.
The former Arsenal and England striker was claimed to have earned £400,000 for his participation on the programme, when he finished fifth.
However, before to entering the jungle, 2018 winner Harry gave indications about the pay and supposedly let slip that Ian had been confirmed as a cast member, despite the fact that the official lineup had not been announced.
An audience member said: ‘He was asked why he went in the jungle and said, “Well they paid me half a million quid, so that helped. Ian Wright’s going in this year and they’re paying him a million”.’
Amir Khan
Amir Khan returned to I’m A Celebrity All Stars earlier this year in South Africa.
Thankfully, there was no strawberry-gate after his 2017 jungle adventure.
The pro boxer allegedly earned roughly £400,000 during his stint on Series 17, where he was the seventh participant thrown out of camp, with Georgia Toffolo eventually winning.
Despite not having the highest-earned record, Katie Price is the only I’m A Celebrity competitor to have been on the show twice.
Katie fled the first time in 2004, with ex-husband Peter Andre, with whom she currently shares two of her five children.
According to reports, the ex-glamour model walked away with a fee of between £350,000 and £400,000 five years later.
She was the fifth competitor to be eliminated during her initial stint and the second to withdraw from the competition in series nine.
Matt Hancock
Former MP Hancock was paid £320,000 for 30 days of jungle labour, despite claims that the total figure might approach £400,000.
Hancock later confirmed to Metro.co.uk that he donated £10,000 to charity, saying: ‘As well as raising the profile of his dyslexia campaign in front of 11 million viewers, Matt’s donated £10,000 to St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk and the British Dyslexia Association as a result of his appearance on I’m A Celebrity…”Please get me out of here.’
However, the amount he contributed in comparison to how much he earned aroused outrage.
Hancock also received £45,000 for his appearance on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, which he spent 80 hours recording.
How much have politicians earned on I’m A Celebrity?
While Farage is the most famous, numerous politicians have made large sums of money from their appearances on the reality show.
Former Tory MP Edwina Currie appeared on I’m A Celebrity in 2014, finishing fourth and claiming to have ‘earned close to £100,000’.
In 2017, Stanley Johnson reportedly made approximately £250,000.
Nadine Dorries was the first sitting MP to appear on the show in 2012, earning roughly £40,000.
Farage is said to have previously turned down many offers of hundreds of thousands of pounds from ITV to be on the reality programme, but it appears that money talks.
Sources close to the politician claim he will be ‘worth every penny’, with one telling MailOnline: ‘ITV needs him more than he needs them.’
I’m A Celebrity launches on Sunday, November 19, at 9pm on ITV.
