Gary Lineker ‘turned down Celebrity Big Brother by demanding £50,000,000 fee’-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

Gary Lineker has revealed the unique way he decided to turn down an offer to appear on Celebrity Big Brother (Pictures: Getty/ Rex)

Gary Lineker has revealed he asked to be paid £50 million after being approached to star on Celebrity Big Brother.

The sports broadcaster and former professional footballer started his career in 1977 and then in the late 1990s went on to present the BBC’s flagship football programme Match of the Day.

Last month it was announced he would be leaving the series after 26 years but would continue to work for the BBC until the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup.

He’s already being approached with offers for other TV gigs, however he decided to have a little fun when asked about his interest in the reality show.

Speaking on his The Rest is Football podcast with co-stars Micah Richards and Alan Shearer, the 64-year-old said he was approached for the ITV series but found a creative way to turn down the offer.

‘Do you know, last week I got requested on Celebrity Big Brother,’ he said.

The Match of the Day presenter asked to be paid £50 million (Picture: Alex Pantling/ Getty Images)

‘My agent sent it through jokingly, and he replied, “Oh yes, Gary’s fee will be £50 million!”.’

Despise the sarcastic request, it appears bosses may have believed his demands were serious.

‘He did it completely as a joke, obviously, and they came back and said, “Oh, that’s a little bit… it’s not within our budget”.’

His co-host Alan then quipped that Gary’s departure from Match of the Day meant reality TV bosses will be asking him to ‘go on all of them’.

However, Gary made it clear it’s an unlikely prospect.

He is currently the BBC’s highest paid star (Picture: Karwai Tang/ WireImage)

‘I can tell you know, don’t bother asking…’ he quipped.

Earlier this year it was revealed the former England player was the BBC’s highest-paid presenter.

In July, the BBC published its annual salary report which revealed Gary earned £1,300,000 to £1,354,999 for 2023/2024.

After his impending exit from Match of the Day was announced, the broadcaster’s director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski said Gary would be ‘sorely missed’.

‘We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week,’ he said.

The 2024 season of Celebrity Big Brother was won by David Potts (Picture: James Veysey/ Shutterstock)

‘He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.’

Gary had also previously told Esquire he accepted he would ‘have to slow down at some point’.

After Big Brother was rebooted last year, the Celebrity spin-off series aired earlier in 2024.

Housemates included Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh and Fern Britton, with the season eventually won by reality star David Potts.

Metro has contacted ITV for comment.

Celebrity Big Brother is streaming on ITVX.

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