Louis Walsh reached the Celebrity Big Brother final. (Getty)
Former X Factor judge Louis Walsh has revealed the eye-water amount of money he was paid to appear on Celebrity Big Brother (CBB).
Speaking to the Irish Independent in an exclusive interview published on Easter Sunday (31 March), Walsh, who finished fourth in the reality TV series last month, said the show’s producers had “really, really wanted [him]”.
The Irish music manager, who gave the world boybands like Boyzone and Westlife, added: “They kept on at me and still I said no because I was scared. I don’t want to be a celebrity. It’s a fake world. I have no desire. I like music and staying under the radar.”
Now, having admitted he was the villain of the show this year, while claiming his fellow housemates were playing ‘nice’ for the cameras, Walsh has confessed to being paid close to £850,000 for his stint in the house, which lasted the full three weeks.
Elsewhere in the interview, Walsh described the show as “different” and “a big adventure” but “much tougher than people realise”. He had a “good time” but wouldn’t do it again.
“I did it because I probably wouldn’t be asked again and if I didn’t do it, I would’ve regretted it.”
During his time on CBB, Walsh hit the headlines for calling pop twins Jedward, whom he mentored on The X Factor in 2009, “vile”.
The twins didn’t take the criticism lightly. Taking to Twitter/X, they wrote: “Louis Walsh is a cold-hearted b*****d who didn’t even send flowers when our mom died. What an absolute weirdo… does he like anyone?
“Louis reopened these wounds all by himself… We aren’t going to have our character taken. Justice will be served.”
A representative for Walsh declined to comment when approached by PinkNews.