Big Brother bosses plotting £500,000 offer to tempt Sarah Ferguson to join show
TV bosses are said to be poised to offer Sarah Ferguson £500,000 to appear on Celebrity Big Brother.
Executives are pulling out all the stops to line up a stellar cast for the next series of the ITV show, which is due to hit screens in March next year. And ITV sources say the 64-year-old Duchess of York is their main target.
One said: “Sarah would be a brilliant signing for Celebrity Big Brother. She is very smart, engaging and funny. Not to mention the millions of viewers she would pull in if she began talking to housemates about the Royal Family and Prince Andrew. Sarah has never considered reality formats in the past but ITV bosses are hoping their offer might change that position. Signing her would be a massive coup. That’s why they are digging deep for the offer they plan to make her.”
It is understood the casting team’s interest came after Sarah co-hosted and guest-edited a recent episode of ITV show This Morning. The source added: “Sarah has a great relationship with ITV and her stint on This Morning last month was a real success. It was an unexpected move for her but it worked brilliantly.”
“The fact she agreed to do that did have a part to play in the decision to target her for Celebrity Big Brother. She has been much more visible in recent months. And, after all, she wouldn’t be the first person with royal connections to do reality TV – look at Mike Tindall on I’m a Celebrity.”
TOWIE's Chloe Brockett makes cheeky dig at Saffron Lempriere during filming
Ferguson during her appearance on This Morning (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Fergie and Prince Andrew at Ascot in 2019 (Getty Images)Rugby star Mike, 45, who is married to the Princess Royal’s daughter Zara Phillips, 42, featured in ITV’s jungle camp last year. Before co-hosting This Morning, Sarah said she was “an enormous fan of the show”. But she later described the stint on it as “terrifying”.
Sarah, married to Prince Andrew from 1986 to 1996, has undertaken a series of high-profile projects this year. She met US producer Amy Rosenbaum to discuss opportunities. And she also released a romantic novel – A Most Intriguing Lady – and launched the podcast Tea Talks with the Duchess and Sarah, alongside entrepreneur Sarah Thomson.
It is understood the Duke of York is “fully supportive” of these projects. Despite the divorce, Sarah and Andrew continue to live together at Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate.
Last March, Andrew, 63, paid a settlement estimated to be worth around £12million to his sex accuser, Virginia Giuffre. It formally ended a civil case brought against him in the US. The Duke has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing and the payment was not an admission of liability.
Fergie (Daniele Venturelli / Getty Images)Andrew stepped down as a working member of the Royal Family in 2019 amid Ms Giuffre’s claims. He then began relying heavily on his annual allowance, said to have been £249,000. It has since been reduced.
This month, we revealed firms owned by Sarah are in the red. Accounts show her lifestyle business Ginger and Moss, which sells a box of tea bags for £20, owes creditors £265,000, while production firm Planet Partners is £185 in the red.
A third business, Coat Company Productions, is in the black. A source said: “Sarah’s business interests aren’t doing as well as she might like but she is hoping she can turn things around in 2024.”
A spokesman for Sarah, Duchess of York said: "The Duchess will not be appearing on this show. As is widely known, she does not consider reality TV formats." An ITV spokeswoman declined to comment last night.
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