Dancing With The Stars contestants will all be paid a minimum of €9,000 for appearing on the show.
The show, which kicks off this Sunday, will star 11 well-known faces in total, including actress Denise McCormack, model Thalia Heffernan, comedienne Katherine Lynch, and RTÉ’s Des Cahill and Teresa Mannion.
According to the Irish Sun, the contestants are being paid up to €3,000 a week, and with no eliminations until week three – this means each celebrity is guaranteed a minimum of almost €9,000 for taking part.
However, some contestants will earn THOUSANDSÂ more if they make it through to the finale of the show, which will run for 12 weeks.
All expenses paid: Teresa will be paid on top of her RTÉ salary | RTE
It has also been revealed that Des Cahill and Teresa Mannion will be paid on top of their generous RTÉ salaries, as they continue to work as full-time staff for the broadcaster.
“Participation in shows such as this are in addition to duties and roles which RTE staff are contracted for,” a station source revealed.
However, the news may ruffle some feathers as an insider has said, “It does seem crazy that RTE are paying their own staff to appear on Dancing With The Stars.
“It’s even a little unfair that RTE selected their own well-paid talent to get extra money from the Dancing With The Stars shows. Surely there are plenty of out-of-work actors or entertainers who could have done with the extra money?”
While the eventual winner of RTÉ’s Dancing With The Stars will pocket €36000, this fee is said to be considerably low in comparison to what celebrities are paid on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
Star on the rise: Denise McCormack has already been tipped to win the show | RTE
An RTE spokeswoman said, “The celebs taking part will be paid a weekly fee for the duration of their participation in recognition of the considerable amount of time they will invest to learn and practice their weekly performances.”
“Most of the celebs are taking part in the show on top of continuing to do their day-to-day jobs. RTE will not be commenting on the arrangements with the individual participants on the show.”
Meanwhile, the celebs are gearing up for their first show tomorrow night, and Red Rock star Denise McCormack and former Hometown singer Dayl Cronin have already been tipped for the crown, as they both had previous training as dancers.
