Former England striker turned Match of the Day host Gary Lineker turned down the chance to appear on Celebrity Big Brother by demanding a monstrous £50million appearance fee
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker has revealed his agent asked for a whopping £50million appearance fee as a ploy to turn down Celebrity Big Brother.
Lineker, who is stepping down from hosting the BBC's flagship football highlights show at the end of the 2024/25 season, explained he was approached by ITV to appear on the reality show recently, but turned down the offer.
"Do you know, last week I got asked to go on Celebrity Big Brother," said Lineker, which prompted Richards to reply: Did you?!" with Shearer adding: "You got asked to go on there?"
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"My agent sent it through jokingly and he replied 'oh yes, Gary's fee will be £50million," said Lineker, prompting laughter from Richards. However, the response from Lineker's agent was, unsurprisingly, a bit out of ITV's budget range.
He continued: "He did it as a joke obviously and they came back and said 'oh that's a little bit - that's not within our budget'. Despite the reply being a joke, it seems ITV may have taken it as a serious demand judging by their reply.
"You're gonna get more of that," said Shearer adding: "You're going to get asked on all of the Gaz, you know that." Linker added: "I can tell you now, don't bother asking."
While Lineker will no longer front Match of the Day after this season, he will continue to front the Match of the Day's Top Ten podcast series, while 'The Rest is Football' will also now air on BBC Sounds.
Lineker, who has "agreed in principle" to a contract extension, will also lead the BBC's coverage of the 2026 World Cup which is being spread across the USA, Mexico and Canada as well as the FA Cup coverage for the 2025/26 season.
Lineker said: "I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen."
The former England striker opened talks with the BBC over a new contract, with Lineker being the broadcaster's highest-paid star earning more than £1.3million per year.
Confirming the news of Lineker's departure from Match of the Day, BBC Sport director Alex Kay-Jelski said: "We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week. He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.”
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