Louis Walsh has revealed the eye-watering amount he was paid to appear on Celebrity Big Brother this year.
The music manager, 71, secured fourth place in the series after a controversial three weeks, where he let loose many acid-tongued views on famous names, including Ronan Keating, Jedward and Simon Cowell.
After coming out of the house, Louis has spoken about his reasons for signing up for the show and revealed that he was ‘convinced’ by ITV.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, he said: ‘[ITV] convinced me. They said I was going to be safe; it was going to be fun, that I would probably win it.
‘They said they really, really wanted me. They kept on at me, and still I said no, because I was scared.
Louis Walsh has revealed the eye-watering amount he was paid to appear on Celebrity Big Brother this year (pictured last week)
The music manager, 71, secured fourth place in the series after a controversial three weeks, where he let loose many acid-tongued views on famous names, including Ronan Keating , Jedward and Simon Cowell (Louis pictured on show)
After coming out of the house, Louis has spoken about his reasons for signing up for the show and revealed that he was ‘convinced’ by ITV (pictured on show)
He insisted: ‘I don’t want to be a celebrity. It’s a fake world. I have no desire. I like music and staying under the radar.’
However, Louis said he changed his tune when ITV offered him a staggering paycheck to join the show.
He confessed: ‘They paid me a lot of money’, before revealing they had forked out close to £850,000 to get him in the house.
However, he still didn’t manage to secure the highest payday on the series, as his pal Sharon Osbourne bagged the most lucrative fee this year.
The former X Factor star, 71, was paid nearly £7,000 for every minute she appeared on screen during her short stint, as calculated by MailOnline.
She joined the house temporarily as the first Big Brother ‘lodger’, reportedly because ITV bosses were unable to match the huge fee Sharon requested to take part in the show.
After nine days of living in the house, Sharon finally said farewell during a live eviction episode.
But it seems ITV still had to splash out, with her reportedly being paid £100,000 for every day.
However, Louis said he changed his tune when ITV offered him a staggering paycheck to join the show, revealing they had forked out close to £850,000 to get him in the house
However, he still didn’t manage to secure the highest payday on the series, as his pal Sharon Osbourne bagged the most lucrative fee this year (pictured on show)
The former X Factor star, 71, was paid nearly £7,000 for every minute she appeared on screen during her short stint, as calculated by MailOnline
Over the series’ first nine episodes, totalling nearly eight hours, Sharon appeared on screen for a total of two hours and 13 minute, which calculates to £6,767 per minute
Over the series’ first nine episodes, totalling nearly eight hours, Sharon appeared on screen for a total of two hours and 13 minutes.
This calculates to £6,767 per minute, including Sharon’s entrance, exit and interview on spin-off Late and Live.
No doubt bosses will believe they got their money’s worth, after both Sharon and Louis were at the centre of many house twists, and made global headlines with their brutal views of other stars.
Speaking about his acerbic jabs in the house, Louis admitted he had been the ‘villain’, but insisted that he had to be, because ‘no one else would’.
He said: ‘I was the villain this year, I had to be. Every panto needs a villain and it was me. Someone’s got to be gobby and I knew I had to do that because no one else would do it.
He added: ‘Luckily Sharon Osbourne was there as well and she’s good at that too.’
Louis admitted: ‘I slagged off loads of people. I know I shouldn’t have but I did. That’s me, that’s Irish people, that’s what I love about Ireland.’
Now he’s pocketed his hefty paycheck for Celebrity Big Brother, Louis has ruled out any future reality TV show appearances.
He said: ‘You won’t find me in the jungle or on Dancing On Ice, or Strictly – nothing like that. I’m only going to what I like from now on.’
Speaking about his acerbic jabs in the house, Louis admitted he had been the ‘villain’, but insisted that he had to be, because ‘no one else would’
Now he’s pocketed his hefty paycheck for Celebrity Big Brother, Louis has ruled out any future reality TV show appearances (pictured last May)
