Dugdale received £80,000 for I’m a Celebrity ...
KEZIA Dugdale was paid more than her annual salary as an MSP for less than two weeks on a reality TV show.
The former Scottish Labour leader received more than £80,000 for her controversial stint on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Despite pledging to promote “Labour values” on her trip to the Australian jungle, she is best remembered for crawling through fish guts and drinking anus and penis smoothies. She was the second person to be voted off after barely two weeks in the “camp”.
She said she had donated £5,100 of her fee to three charities selected by her parliamentary staff – Who Cares? Scotland; Glasgow Women’s Aid; and the Archie Foundation.
She has also donated her £2,500 parliamentary salary for her time in Australia to the Rock Trust, an Edinburghbased homelessness charity.
Her spokesman said she had received a fee of £70,000, equivalent to £45,000 after tax. However her register of interests said her total remuneration was £80,000 to £85,000.
This includes travel and accommodation costs and a daily fee of AUS $150 (£87).
Ms Dugdale said: “I’m pleased a number of charities which do amazing work across Scotland will benefit financially from this.
“I’m delighted to be back in the Parliament serving my constituents.”
Her TV appearance overshadowed the result of Scottish Labour’s leadership contest in November and was condemned by many of her party colleagues. She was later reprimanded by the party for taking an unauthorised leave.