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Boy George signs up for I’m A Celebrity after landing show’s biggest ever paycheck

Published 11:18 2 Oct 2022 BST

April Curtin
Boy George signs up for I’m A Celebrity after landing show’s biggest ever paycheck

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He previously refused to be on the show because of outfit restrictions

Boy George will star in this year's series of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! - bagging the biggest paycheck in the show's 20-year history. The Culture Club legend, 61, will head to Australia in November to live amongst other celebs and take on wild challenges, in the hope of eventually being crowned king of the jungle. [caption id="attachment_361513" align="alignnone" width="2048"](MANDATORY CREDIT Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images) Boy George of Culture Club at his apartment in London, United Kingdom, 1983. (Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images) Boy George at his apartment in London in 1983 (Image: Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images)[/caption] Boy George previously rejected multiple requests to be on the show, he claimed at an event in 2016, because of "serious clothing restrictions in the jungle". But MailOnline reports that the Karma Chameleon singer has just secured nearly $1 million to star in this year's series, making him the highest-paid celeb since the show started in 2002. [caption id="attachment_361515" align="alignnone" width="1367"]LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 02: Boy George attends the NME Awards 2022 at O2 Academy Brixton on March 02, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images) Boy George at the NME Awards London's O2 Brixton Academy in March, 2022 (Images: Getty)[/caption] An ITV source told MailOnline that they are "beyond excited" to have secured Boy George, who rose to fame in the eighties when he and other members of Culture Club first started out. "It's been a long time since we had a huge global star film the show and he will no doubt draw viewers," the source added. [caption id="attachment_361511" align="alignnone" width="2048"]Boy George and Culture Club during photo shoot, Beverly Hills, California, October 20, 1984. Pictured are, from left, Jon Moss, Roy Hay, Boy George, and Mikey Craig. (Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images) Culture Club members Jon Moss, Roy Hay, Boy George, and Mikey Craig at a photoshoot in California in October, 1984 (Image: Getty)[/caption] Boy George, whose real name is George Alan O'Dowd, had actually already told I'm A Celeb presenters Ant and Dec that he would love to appear on the show - though he did have one requirement. Speaking to the duo on Saturday Night Takeaway, he said: "Unless you do a vegan version and then I’m in." It's understood that the singer won't be forced to eat any animal parts or insects in Bushtucker Trials, and will be served vegan alternatives during mealtimes. https://twitter.com/antanddec/status/1573559857222918149 The series will return to Murwillumbah in Australia this year, after two years filming at Gwyrch Castle in Wales due to covid restrictions.
Boy George signs up for I’m A Celebrity after landing show’s biggest ever paycheck