The Masked Singer UK’s judges are said to be raking in hundreds of thousands of pounds for starring on the ITV show.
The bonkers guessing game, hosted by presenter Joel Dommett, sees masked celebrities take to the stage and sing their hearts out while trying to conceal their identities. It’s up to the public and the judging panel – Mo Gilligan, Rita Ora, Davina McCall and Jonathan Ross – to figure out who is singing.
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The latest series has already revealed famous faces such as talk show host Lorraine Kelly as Owl and Strictly star Shirley Ballas as Rat. Fans may be wondering how much the famous four judges get paid to take part in the show…
Mo Gilligan
(Image: Getty Images)
Comedian Mo Gilligan rose to fame after gaining popularity on social media with his hilarious videos. He bagged his very own shows on Channel 4 and hosted the BRIT Awards in 2023, a huge gig for any comedian.
But some fans may be surprised that Mo is reportedly being paid more than judges Davina and Jonathan on the show. According to reports, Mo has been earning £100,000 per episode for the hit ITV series.
In 2021, an insider told The Sun: “Mo has proved a mega-hit on the Masked Singer — with fans and with everyone working on the show. It’s a relief for the bosses as he takes home £100,000 per episode. Backstage he’s been nicknamed Mo Money because of what he’s said to be getting.
Rita Ora
In 2021, reports emerged that singer Rita Ora was being paid an eye-watering £1million to appear on the second series of the hit show. The pop star is a big hit amongst TV watchers and it’s said ITV producers wanted to ensure Rita would be on there to stay.
Talking about her alleged million-pound fortune, a source told The Mirror: “Rita received a whopping £1million-per-series deal for her role as a returning judge. They were really keen to secure her return as she had been such a big hit in the first series.
“But they also really wanted Mo, too. He is a prolific talent with a big following,” the insider explained.
Davina McCall and Jonathan Ross
(Image: ITV)
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It appears Davina and Jonathan earn the same amount to sit on the judging panel because Jonathan wanted to make sure he wasn’t making more than former Big Brother host Davina. PR expert Robyn Munroe, a Senior Digital PR Executive at Dentsu, reckons it’s a staggering amount.
Robyn told Daily Star: “There is a bit of a grey cloud over how much Davina and Jonathan get paid as presumably the ITV bosses want to keep it under wraps. Davina has previously praised her co-judge Jonathan Ross as an “ally of women” after he shared his salary details with her in a bid to avoid a gender pay gap and be transparent with how much he’s getting paid.
“By the ninth series of Big Brother in 2008, Davina was earning a reported £85,000 per episode. Although she didn’t rejoin the new Big Brother series, Davina presented the dating reality show My Mum, Your Dad last year, which she earned well-deserved recognition by the public.”
(Image: ITV)
“Based on this, the duo’s popularity, and how long they have been in the industry, I would predict the iconic pair earn an estimated £200-225k per episode. Jonathan has previously said the panel took a pay cut at one point, so I think Davina and Jonathan’s figure was considerably higher when the family show first aired.”
Last year, mum-of-three Davina McCall revealed that her co-star Jonathan called her to discuss how much they earned on the show. Jonathan wanted to be honest about his earnings to ensure that there was no major pay gap.
The star told The Sun: “When I [got] my job, [Jonathan] called me and said, ‘this is what I’m being paid. I think you and I should get paid the same amount.'”
(Image: ITV)
Insisting that there wasn’t a big discrepancy between her salary and Jonathan’s, Davina added: “But he wanted to make sure there wasn’t and I love him for that.”
Despite the show’s evident success and popularity, the judges decided to take a pay cut in series two. Speaking openly about the decision, judge Jonathan Ross agreed that it was the best thing to do at the time.
Jonathan told The Mirror in 2021: “ITV is funded by advertising and revenue hasn’t been as much as it has in previous years. So they’ve asked people to take cuts, and all of us very happily [and] immediately said ‘yes’ to taking a cut on our wages in series two.”
The star also explained that the judges’ love for the show outweighed their pay. He added: “We love doing it, I’m looking forward to doing it again because it’s a fun way to spend the evening.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
