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    Home - Streaming - The Celebrity Traitors ‘confirmed’ cast salaries make me feel incredibly uneasy
    Streaming

    The Celebrity Traitors ‘confirmed’ cast salaries make me feel incredibly uneasy

    By Savanah Al Badri8 Mins Read
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    The Celebrity Traitors ‘confirmed’ cast salaries make me feel incredibly uneasy

    Cliff Notes – The Celebrity Traitors ‘confirmed’ cast salaries make me feel incredibly uneasy

    • The celebrity edition of The Traitors features an impressive line-up, including notable figures like Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross, raising expectations for the show’s popularity.
    • Each cast member will reportedly receive a flat fee of £40,000, which raises concerns about the integrity of a charity-focused competition where the total cast payments exceed potential charitable contributions.
    • The disparity between celebrity compensation and the prize money for charity highlights ethical questions regarding the motivations of participants in a show framed as a charitable endeavour.

    The Celebrity Traitors ‘confirmed’ cast salaries make me feel incredibly uneasy

    When the cast of the first-ever celebrity edition of Claudia Winkleman’s cloak and dagger reality series, The Traitors, was announced in May, no one could quite believe what they were reading. 

    Months later, I’ll still be going about my day and remember Sir Stephen Fry, Jonathan Ross, Charlotte Church, and Clare Balding will be gallivanting around a Scottish castle together and I’m thankful I’m alive to see it. 

    The full line-up is astonishing, an incredible feat for Studio Lambert, which is the production company behind the show, which is currently at the top of its game. They also do Race Across The World, arguably the second-biggest reality tv series in the UK right now.

    In theory, I always imagined there would be a stream of A-list talent queuing up to take part in the first ever Celebrity Traitors.

    But still, it felt like a miracle they managed to pull off what must be the best line-up in celebrity reality television history. 

    Now that miracle seems even more unreal.

    All you need to know about Celebrity Traitors 2025

    When is Celebrity Traitors launching?

    We don’t have a fixed release date yet, but Celebrity Traitors is coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this autumn. We’ll update you when we know more!

    Who’s in the cast?

    Comedian Alan Carr
    Singer and songwriter Cat Burns
    Actor Celia Imrie
    Singer Charlotte Church
    Broadcaster Clare Balding
    Historian David Olusoga
    Former England rugby player Joe Marler
    Comedian Joe Wilkinson
    Presenter Jonathan Ross
    Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway
    Comedian Lucy Beaumont
    Actor Mark Bonnar
    Actor and comedian Nick Mohammed
    Content creator Niko Omilana
    Singer and songwriter Paloma Faith
    Actor Ruth Codd
    Actor and presenter Stephen Fry
    Actor and comedian Tameka Empson
    Former professional diver Tom Daley

    What’s the prize?

    The prize money for winning Celebrity Traitors will be £100,000, which will go the the charity of the winner’s choosing.

    On Tuesday’s episode of The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, host Marina Hyde reported that every single star taking part will be paid a flat rate of £40,000. 

    According to Hyde’s sources, Sir Stephen Fry – by far the show’s biggest booking – will receive exactly the same fee as actress Ruth Codd, best known for starring in Netflix’s 2022 series The Midnight Club.

    Join Metro’s The Traitors community on WhatsApp

    Want to get all the latest news and predictions for the best and most dramatic show this new year? Join our The Traitors WhatsApp channel for live episode coverage, behind-the-scenes gossip and a place to recover from all the cliffhangers.

    Simply click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! Don’t forget to turn on notifications!

    This is despite the former easily being the biggest draw for audiences, likely to even lure in viewers who have never seen The Traitors. 

    Everyone is playing the same game, has made the same commitment, and will be valued in exactly the same way.

    My immediate reaction is that I’m uncomfortable – but let me get to the positives first.

    The first-ever celebrity edition of Claudia Winkleman’s cloak and dagger reality series, The Traitors, was announced in May (Picture: BBC / Studio Lambert / Cody Burridge)

    A flat-rate – if true – is a big equaliser, meaning no big egos to match.

    More often than not, the highest-paid ‘talent’ on reality TV can be a car-crash. 

    Just this year, Mickey Rourke was said to have been paid £500,000 to be confined to a compound with the likes of Jojo Siwa and former Conservative MP Michael Fabricant in Celebrity Big Brother. He lasted less than a week and had to be removed from the house for ‘unacceptable behaviour’. 

    More often than not, the highest-paid ‘talent’ on reality TV can be a car-crash (Picture: Shutterstock for Big Brother)

    In 2023, Nigel Farage was reportedly paid £1.5 million for I’m A Celebrity. Sure, he ended up coming third, but his appearance in the jungle alone threatened to tarnish the show for good. 

    So a flat rate for the Celebrity Traitors season would genuinely be a very welcome shift in direction. 

    Still, it sits uncomfortably with me that some of The Celebrity Traitors cast are being paid at all, especially when it’s being pitched as a game for charity — with a maximum of £100,000 being donated to the winner’s chosen cause.

    It’s been reported previously that The Traitors contestants in the regular civilian seasons are only compensated for their time at a rate of around £100 a day (Picture: Paul Chappells/BBC)

    In total, the cast is reportedly being paid £760,000 – that’s £660,000 more than the money that can possibly be raised for the charity or charities who benefit from a winning celebrity. 

    Should three faithful come out on top at the end, the flat £40,000 rate would mean they’ve individually been paid more than they’ve raised for their charity, which feels disingenuous and actually quite vulgar. 

    It’s been reported previously that The Traitors contestants in the regular civilian seasons are only compensated for their time at a rate of around £100 a day, unless they win the eventual prize.

    As evidenced by the emotional stories of why they want to win, it’s clear many of them likely need it a lot more than the cast playing the celebrity version. 

    The Traitors can be a life-changing experience – it helped Minah Shannon land a hosting slot on BBC Radio 1 (Picture: BBC / Studio Lambert)

    Granted, it’s a life-changing experience: Minah Shannon, the true hero of season 3, has just gone on to land a slot on BBC Radio 1, while Alexander Dragonetti hosted his own Friday night series on Classic FM.

    Many contestants make a quick buck through endorsements, appearances, and a substantial boost in social media followers, but they can give up their jobs and are only paid lost wages during filming.

    Yes, they have the chance to walk away with a huge amount of money – but when split between other Faithfuls, it’s roughly the same as the celebrities who are being paid anyway.

    Of course, I appreciate some of the celebrity line-up will have had to move projects or even drop projects to make it work. I’m also sure playing The Traitors for two weeks isn’t always the jolly it appears to be on TV.

    And I have no doubt some of the cast will donate their fee to the charity of their choice anyway. Sir Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross are worth tens of millions and have done plenty of charity work for free – I’d be amazed and honestly very disappointed if they actually took any of their fee home with them. 

    For other names on the bill, the rumoured £40,000 probably means a lot more. Charlotte Church recently admitted she blew her £25million fortune and says she is ‘no longer a millionaire’. I mean, yes, join the club – but also £40,000 is a lot of money to anyone who isn’t rolling in it. 

    Admittedly, it’s naïve of me to think the cast won’t have been paid at all or that celebrities don’t lend their name and the value it has to campaigns and charities without making a few bob. But it does make me uncomfortable.

    I’m A Celebrity doesn’t donate any prize money to charity, which isn’t exactly more honourable, but at least there’s no pretence.

    The stars on that show are very open about taking part for the money and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’d want six-figures too to spend a day with Nigel Farage, let alone three weeks. 

    So what’s the solution? The cast signs up without pay? I’m sure Studio Lambert could have found an all-star cast of talent that would genuinely want to take part for the love of the game and their charity without being paid a dime. 

    But perhaps I’d feel more comfortable if the prize to the charity was guaranteed to be larger than the pay to the celebrity. 

    The format of The Traitors is unbeatable. Combined with the star power of this line-up, I can’t imagine anything else will be as popular on television this year. I can’t even think of anything, at least in entertainment, that will come close.

    If the show’s going to fork out the cash on celebs to take part, then maybe it should also be willing to double the prize pot, bringing in some real jeopardy for the celebs so you’d make a better – and fairer – show. 

    Metro approached the BBC and Studio Lambert who both declined to comment

    Share your views in the comments below.

    Comment now

    Do you think celebrities should accept pay on a show for charity? Have your say below.

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    Savanah Al Badri
    • X (Twitter)

    Savanah is the Fashion news correspondent for WTX News. She has over 15 years experience in journalism and communications on a range of organisations, with roles that range from Reporting and Editorial to Brand Account Manager and production roles. She regularly writes features in Middle eastern Fashion and the latest trends coming through the world of fashion.

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