When it comes to reality television shows, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! takes the cake for most outlandish in terms of what contestants are made to endure to “win.”
From consuming animal organs to crawling through or having gross concoctions dumped on you, to all manners of scary animal encounters, it’s not a show to sign up for if you are of the faint of heart.
Over the years, more than 150 celebrities have signed up for the challenge in the hopes of being crowned King or Queen of the Jungle, which would grant them $100,000 in prize money to donate to a charity of their choice.
While in an ideal world, it would be lovely if the celebrities signed up from the goodness of their hearts to raise awareness for and funds for a good cause, all contestants do actually take home a healthy pay packet to appear on the show.
And given they are made to endure all manners of insanity and forgo their creature comforts for the sake of our entertainment, we don’t blame them!
How much are contestants on I’m A Celebrity Australia paid?
The motley crew of celebrity contestants come from all walks of life and varying levels of fame, which means that they’re each receiving considerably different salaries to appear in the show.
Now that the 2026 season has aired, it has been revealed that a new tiered contract system has been put in place to limit pay.
A day after it began, the Daily Mail have revealed the alleged salaries for this year’s celebrities, and they are eye-watering.
One source told the outlet that the stars that there is a staggering pay gap, and that’s because the stars are paid for “perceived value”.
The publication reported that The Brady Bunch star Barry Williams will fetch the most, ranging between $150,000 and $180,000.
“He brings a type of credibility you can’t manufacture,” a source told the publication. “That kind of name still opens doors with advertisers and overseas press.”
Supermodel Rachel Hunter will reportedly pocket from $140,000 to $170,000, with Gary Sweet possibly earning from $110,000 to $140,000.
‘He understands television,” the source said about his rumoured salary. “You know he’ll give you moments you can promo.”
The publication reported that Deni Hines is being paid $100,000 for her time in the jungle, and AFL legend Dyson Heppell, and Neighbours star Rebekah Elmaloglou will receive $90,000 to $120,000 each.
Comedian Nath Valvo is reported to nab between $80,000 to $100,000 for his time on the show.
Concetta Caristo and former NRL player Luke Bateman, are rumoured to pocket between $70,000 to $90,000.
Reportedly receiving the least is Mia Fevola ($40,000 – $60,000). At the time of publication, no salaries have been leaked about intruders Cyrell Paule and Matt Zukowski.
Similarly, our sister publication Woman’s Day reported that this year’s celebrities will be paid according to where they sit on a rankings system, with household names earning bigger paydays.
The show’s main stars are expected to earn as much as $250,000, but the majority of the cast are expected to take home five figures.
It is also understood that time-based bonuses are allocated to try and dissuade the celebrities from quitting.
“You’re not just fighting for your charity at that point; you’re fighting to make all of the agreed rate,” a source shared.
For the 2025 series, an insider revealed that it was comedian Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes who took home the biggest paycheck to appear, amidst claims that the season 11 cast was “the cheapest ever”.
While Hughesy was reportedly paid $250,000 to appear, his co-stars, Matty J, Sam Thaiday and Shayna Jack, negotiated a healthy payday of between $100,000 and $175,000, with clauses in their contracts also in place to give them an additional $5,000 per day if they lasted more than two weeks.
British TikTok star Max Baledge and Reggie Bird were rumoured to have been paid an estimated $100,000 each, while reality veterans Samantha Moitzi and Tina Provis were the worst paid of the 2025 series, with deals between $35,000 and $60,000.
As for the year prior, former Love Island star Callum Hole confirmed he was being paid “good money” that was “a lot more than Love Island” to appear on the program.
Fellow fan favourite Skye Wheatley indicated her pay wasn’t as exciting when speaking with pedestrian.tv, revealing she could “make more money being at home”, where her full-time job is as an influencer.
“I do it for free,” she added. “It’s for charity, babes, who gives a f**k about the money. I love that it can be for charity, and I love the opportunity. So I’m very grateful.”
As for MasterChef alumn Khanh Ong, after turning down I’m A Celeb “about four times, in 2024, he was offered “a considerable amount more” to take part.
In 2023, Nick ‘Honey’ Badger Cummins reportedly took home between $250,000 and $300,000, according to an insider source who spoke with Yahoo Lifestyle, just falling short of the $500,000 he was rumoured to be paid for his infamous stint on The Bachelor in 2018.
Aussie TV legend Kerri-Anne Kennerley took home an alleged $180,000 to appear in the jungle that same year, and considering she was only there for four days after dramatically quitting, that’s not too shabby!
The remaining stars from that season took home between $90,000 and $35,000.
A year earlier, Network 10 was rumoured to have paid UK import Joey Essex “upwards of $400,000” to secure the Brit and his “star power.”
And in 2017, American actor Tom Arnold was paid $425,000 USD for his short-lived stint on the show, at least according to news.com.au.
In 2021, it was celebrity chef Colin Fassnidge who was reportedly paid the most at $150,000, but these numbers still pale in comparison to the two million dollars that the late Shane Warne was offered to appear on the show in 2016.
“I scared them off with a figure of two million bucks or nothing,” Shane later penned in his memoir No Spin.
While that number initially declined, the network came back to him two years later.
“[My manager] rang to say we’ve got $2 million! Oh sh*t! When you throw a big number out there, you’re not really expecting to get it,” Shane revealed.
In April 2024, season two winner Brendan ‘Fev’ Fevola revealed on his breakfast radio show Fifi, Fev & Nick that he got paid “$250,000 upfront” and then $5,000 per episode after the first two weeks in 2016.
“So you’d lay there on a Sunday, and you’d think, ‘There’s another seven days, there’s $35,000, boom. Hopefully, they don’t have an eviction during the week,” he shared live on air.
