has doubled down on claims that he was paid £2,000 for his appearance on the hit show Question Time.
The former Apprentice star and businessman, 35, joined host Fiona Bruce on Thursday to discuss the current affairs alongside justice minister Jake Richards, former security minister Tom Tugendhat and the ' Layla Moran.
The TV personality, who last appeared on the BBC as a contestant on Come Dancing in 2025, took part in the debate as the programme aired from Clacton-on-Sea.
He previously claimed he received a whopping £2,000 fee for appearing on the show - a figure the BBC has reportedly disputed, insisting panellists are typically paid £150.
Now in a new statement to The Sun, Thomas said: 'My understanding of the fee came directly from my management, who informed me that I would be paid £2,000 for attending.
He continued: 'I’m a big fan of Question Time and really enjoyed being part of the show.
Thomas Skinner has doubled down on claims that he was paid £2,000 for his appearance on the hit BBC show Question Time
The former Apprentice star and businessman, 35, joined host Fiona Bruce on Thursday to discuss the current affairs alongside justice minister Jake Richards, former security minister Tom Tugendhat and the Liberal Democrats' Layla Moran
'At the same time, it is work for me, and with three kids, I have to treat these opportunities as part of my job.'
DailyMail has contacted the BBC for comment.
It comes after Thomas admitted his main motivation for appearing on the programme was the pay cheque.
Taking to X to address his appearance, he wrote: 'I’m not there representing any party. I’m there because it pays £2,000 and I like watching Question Time….
'I’ve been asked probably 9 or 10 times to attend over the last 4 or 5 years. So I decided to give it a go. And I really enjoyed it.'
However, the BBC swiftly denied his claims, with a spokesperson stating: 'Question Time offers a fee of £150 to panellists who aren’t politicians,' according to The Sun.
It comes after Thomas and host Fiona, 61, had a back and forth as the panel was quizzed around the ongoing debate about social media addiction earlier this week.
It followed news this week that Meta and Google were .
He previously claimed he received a whopping £2,000 fee for appearing on the show - a figure the BBC has reportedly disputed, insisting panellists are typically paid £150
Now in a new statement to The Sun, Thomas said: 'My understanding of the fee came directly from my management, who informed me that I would be paid £2,000 for attending,'
Thomas, who regularly shares videos with his 536,000 followers on TikTok, which include him eating breakfast at his favourite café, hit out against the dangers of social media usage among young people.
Admitting he makes money from posting on platforms including Instagram and TikTok, the media personality insisted his platform was about 'spreading a bit of positivity and a bit of love'.
But Fiona didn't hold back in confronting him on his use of the platforms, suggesting that he too was part of the problem young people face with social media usage.
She said: 'You are benefiting from social media, you make part of your living that way and, part of the reason you are able to do so is because of the addictive algorithms that will push people towards your [content].
'It is giving you a platform, and job opportunities come your way because of it. In the nicest possible way, you are part of the problem.'
Fiona, who has hosted the programme since 2019, added: 'How can you on the one hand say "people shouldn't be doing it so much" but, on the other hand, you are benefiting from it?'
However, Thomas insisted: 'It's bad. It's bad when people sit on their phone all day. I've seen it myself.
'I've done it myself, I sometimes know I've got to be up in four hours and I've sat there and I've scrolled my brains through, watching absolute nonsense.'
He added: 'I don't know if anyone has seen my videos, but my videos are mainly of me in a cafe called Deano's Cafe in new Spitalfields Market, saying "Good morning you lovely people", showing what I've got for breakfast and going, "bosh".
'There's a time and a place... if you've got kids, as parents you should say, "listen, kids, you can have it an hour in the evening" or whatever you want to do.'
Other panellists stepped in to defend Thomas, with one arguing that his clips 'do not drive the worst of the algorithm' online.
Layla chimed in: 'The ones that are are the ones promoting hate, that are purposefully putting people against each other, people are posting things that are not true and purposefully there to incite other people.
