While early reports claimed Schapelle Corby pocketed $150,000 to appear on the forthcoming reality series SAS: Australia, New Idea can reveal her pay cheque wasn’t that big.
WATCH BELOW: Schapelle Corby breaks down on SAS: Australia
However, the convicted drug smuggler, 43, did hold all the cards when it came to negotiations.
“She got between $80,000 and $100,000. Which isn’t bad for her first foray into reality TV!” reveals a source.
“She and [sister] Mercedes were able to talk the numbers up, as Seven saw Schapelle as a real coup for publicity. The Corby girls had the upper hand and they knew it.”
Schapelle is said to quit the series early on, after struggling with the gruelling fitness components.
In a trailer, fans saw a sneak peek at Schapelle being unmasked in a secret location, alongside several other celebs, before footage shows them enduring brutal military-style training.
“Australia knows me as the drug smuggler,” Schapelle says in the voiceover, before adding: “I want to change my life.”
Later in the video, one of the ex-Special Force Soldiers confronts Schapelle, who is standing alongside the other contestants, and berates her for “crying” in public.
“Why are you crying, do you think this a joke?” the soldier yells.
Fighting back tears, Schapelle shakes her head and looks down, before Chief Instructor Ant Middleton says in the voiceover: “This is completely unscripted and one hundred per cent real!
“We’re going to find out who they really are… and so will they,” Ant continues, before footage shows Schapelle clutching her chest as she seemingly falls backwards out of a helicopter.
New Idea previously reported that Schapelle was at loggerheads with PR queen Roxy Jacenko during filming.
“When she learnt Schapelle was going to be in the series, Roxy was not impressed,” a source revealed.
The insider continued: “Roxy knows Schapelle is a force to be reckoned with, as she is so mentally and physically strong.
“Roxy wanted to be the alpha female, but Schapelle immediately stole her thunder.”
Based on the UK TV series SAS: Who Dares Wins and kicking off in October, the Australian version of SAS Australia will follow the local recruits as they attempt to take on the SAS selection process.
Seven’s Director of Programming Angus Ross said: “We have an absolutely killer celebrity cast who are all in for a shock. SAS Australia is no game – it is the toughest test. The course is brutal, and it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do there is no special treatment which makes for utterly engrossing television.”
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