Celebrity Big Brother is officially returning to the small screen next month and fans are expecting this year’s cohort to bring the drama.
After a six-year hiatus, the most famous house in television will once again become a temporary haven (or hell) for a fresh set of famous faces.
Originally broadcast on Channel 4 back in 2000, Celebrity Big Brother has seen the likes of Gemma Collins, Paddy Doherty and Denise Welch becoming housemates.
After moving to Channel 5 in 2011, the show was unfortunately cancelled, reportedly due to low ratings.
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However, after the success of ITV’s civilian version last year, the broadcaster is bringing the celebrity variant back with a bang.
Earlier this week, The Sun claimed that Strictly Come Dancing’s Nikita Kuzmin and former This Morning host Fern Britton would be entering the West London house alongside Love Island winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu.
X Factor’s Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne, TV chef Levi Roots and The Real Housewives of Cheshire star Lauren Simon are also rumoured to be heading into the Celebrity Big Brother house.
Elsewhere, Ibiza Weekender’s David Potts, Heartstopper’s Bradley Riches and American actress Marisha Wallace are also tipped to be joining this season’s cast.
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But be warned; these names are just rumours as ITV has advised fans to take the leaked line-up with a pinch of salt.
A spokesperson for the broadcaster told LADbible Group: “Any names are at this point pure speculation and viewers will have to tune in to see who will be entering the Celebrity Big Brother house."
Regardless, it's expected that some pretty big names will enter the competition - so how much will celebs be paid for a stint on the reality TV programme?
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Of course, we haven’t seen payslips and are yet to get a full cast confirmed by ITV, so we don’t know how much this year’s contestants will officially be raking in.
However, past pay amounts have varied and are usually dependent on things such as star quality, infamy rating and previous projects.
For example, Celebrity Big Brother season 19 housemate Ray J reportedly scooped between £800k and £1 million for his involvement back in 2017.
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The late David Guest earned £600k in 2016 while The Hills’ Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt were paid a whopping £570k.
Previous top earners include John and Edward Grimes - known more commonly as Jedward - who got a staggering £500k for their appearances back in 2011.
Katie Price bagged £400k during season 15 of the show while Gemma received £100k for giving fans some of the best moments in TV history.
Fans can watch the 23rd season of Celebrity Big Brother live on 4 March at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
Topics: Celebrity Big Brother, Reality TV, Entertainment, ITV, Celebrity, Money, Big Brother
Ella Scott