‘Big Brother’ has responded to claims by evicted housemate Rebecca Jane that participants on the regular series are paid to take part.
On Tuesday (4 July), Rebecca was asked by one of her Twitter followers why she agreed to take part in the regular series of ‘BB’ despite being an author and making occasional appearances as an expert on shows like ‘This Morning’ and ‘Loose Women’.
She responded: “Because I was asked, paid, personal reasons, wanted a holiday and I love the show.”
Rebecca later commented that “EVERYONE is paid to be in ‘BB’”, in tweets that have now vanished from her page, though Channel 5 has since spoken out to insisting to Digital Spy that this is not the case.
Contestants on the regular series of ‘Big Brother’ enter the house on the premise that they’re competing for a £100,000 prize fund, though since the show moved to Channel 5, this often ends up being a lot lower due to a variety of tasks.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that four newcomers dubbed the Second Chance Housemates were competing for a cut of the prize fund, though they aren’t eligible to win the show themselves.
Meanwhile, the participants in the celebrity version of the show are paid a fee, which can vary depending on the star power of the housemate in question.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Ray J had bagged the highest fee in ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ history, pocketing $1 million for his appearance on the show, which wound up being cut short for medical reasons.
‘Big Brother’ airs nightly on Channel 5.