'Celebrity Big Brother': As Ray J Pockets $1 Million, Who Got The Highest Fee Ever?

Six figures to sit in a house. Not bad, eh?

This year has seen plenty of talk about how much the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ housemates are earning for their stay in the house this year.

In particular, American housemates Ray J and Speidi have repeatedly been mentioned as the highest earners of the ‘All Stars And New Stars’ line-up, reportedly bagging some of the biggest pay packets for a ‘CBB’ housemate ever.

But just how much can a star actually pocket from a stay in the Borehamwood bungalow?

So far, more than 150 celebrities have passed through those famous doors over the past 16 years, and of those, here are the 15 who had the biggest offers...

15. Christopher Biggins - Series 18 (2016)
Karwai Tang via Getty Images
Paid: £150,000
Final position: Ejected, after nine days

Prior to entering the house, it was reported that Biggins would be the highest-paid of that summer's contestants, pocketing a £150,000.

However, once he was removed for a string of offensive comments, attention turned to whether he'd be paid it all.

It was later reported he pocketed just half of it, which admittedly is still not to be sniffed at.
14. Vicky Entwistle - Series 12 (2013)
Danny Martindale via Getty Images
Paid: £150,000
Final position: Sixth

Producers were keen to get former 'Coronation Street' couple Bruce Jones and Vicky Entwistle in the house, but seeing as he was a lot more willing to sign up than she was, he bagged just 10% of her fee.
13. Perez Hilton - Series 15 (2015)
Stuart C. Wilson via Getty Images
Paid: £150,000
Final position: Sixth

Love him or hate him, there are few who would deny that Perez wasn't worth the money, proving to be the talking point on his series.

When 'All Stars' came knocking, though, he sent them away, claiming they couldn't afford to pay him the fee he felt he deserved.
12. Ulrika Jonsson - Series 6 (2009)
Gareth Cattermole via Getty Images
Paid: £175,000
Final position: Winner

Various outlets claimed that Ulrika earned £175K for appearing on 'CBB', later returning for 'Ultimate Big Brother' a year later.

Interestingly, she's the only housemate from the Channel 4 years to make the list of highest-paid housemates.
11. Stephanie Pratt - Series 14 (2014)
Karwai Tang via Getty Images
Paid: £250,000
Final position: Tenth

Admittedly, not someone we were anticipating seeing on this list, reality TV veteran Stephanie is said to have bagged a quarter of a million for her stint in 'CBB' back in 2014.
10. Danniella Westbrook - Series 17 (2016)
Karwai Tang via Getty Images
Paid: £250,000
Final position: Fifth

Danniella made no secret of the fact she'd fallen on hard times prior to entering the 'Celebrity Big Brother' house, and got an impressive quarter of a million for her much-awaited appearance.
9. Janice Dickinson - Series 16 (2015)
Karwai Tang via Getty Images
Paid: £300,000
Final position: Seventh

The highest-paid housemate of the 'UK vs. USA' series (yes, she got even more than Stevi Ritchie!), Janice was evicted just two days before the live final.
8. Jonathan Cheban - Series 17 (2016)
Jeff Spicer via Getty Images
Paid: £300,000
Final position: Walked, after six days.

Former housemate Cami Li has made a rather bold claim about Cheebs' 'CBB' fee, suggesting he convinced producers to give him a "daily fee", before then walking.

She wrote in the Daily Star: "[Jonathan] played them and they weren't too happy. When will they learn?"
7. Kellie Maloney - Series 14 (2014)
Karwai Tang via Getty Images
Paid: £400,000
Final position: Ninth

Kellie Maloney's arrival on 'CBB' came just weeks after she came out publicly as transgender, so producers were really willing to fork out to get her on side.

At the time, her fee was reported as being the biggest in 'CBB' history, though as you can see, she's since been overtaken.
6. Katie Hopkins - Series 15 (2015)
Ian Gavan via Getty Images
Paid: "More than £400,000"
Final position: Second.

Alright, so we don't know the exact figures, but it was widely reported that the former 'Apprentice' candidate had what was (again, at that time) the highest 'CBB' fee ever.
5. Katie Price - Series 15 (2015)
Karwai Tang via Getty Images
Paid: £500,000
Final position: Winner.

Katie Hopkins' glee at her high fee didn't last long, though, as Katie Price trounced her by a full hundred grand - and she wasn't even in it all the way through!
4. Heidi and Spencer - Series 19 (2017)
Eamonn M. McCormack via Getty Images
Paid: $700,000 (roughly £567,000)

When Speidi first entered the house in 2013, it's fair to say they pretty much dominated the show, and while they didn't end up winning, they were at the centre of the year's main storylines.

It's no wonder, then, that producers were so keen to get them back for 'All Stars And New Stars', to the tune of more than half a million pounds.
3. David Gest - Series 17 (2016)
Karwai Tang via Getty Images
Paid: £600,000
Final position: Walked, after 13 days.

Even The Pricey and Speidi couldn't compete with David Gest's fee, though, as he reportedly scooped £600,000 to appear on 'CBB'.

He eventually walked due to health problems 13 days into his run, and sadly died two months after the series wrapped.
2. Ray J - Series 19 (2017)
Mike Marsland via Getty Images
Paid: $1 million (£809,000)

There's been much discussion that at a million dollars, Ray J's fee is the biggest in 'CBB' history. Not the case, but he's still done pretty well for himself.

The actual highest 'CBB' earners ever are...
1. Jedward - Series 8 (2011)
Chris Jackson via Getty Images
Paid: £1 million
Final position: Third.

Yes! Channel 5 were keen to make sure that their first 'CBB' went off with a bang, so allegedly forked out a MILLION quid - the most they've ever spent on a housemate - to get Jedward involved.

They did manage to last the whole series run, so Channel 5 got their money's worth, but Kerry Katona and Paddy Doherty were the year's runner-up and winner, respectively.
Jack Dee

'Celebrity Big Brother' Winners

Close

What's Hot