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.

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.

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.

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’. 

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.

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. 

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

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.