Walliams’s dismay as BGT cuts his fee
DAVID Walliams has been forced to take a pay cut for the Britain’s Got Talent Christmas special, bringing his salary in line with fellow judges Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon, it has been claimed.
The comedian has reportedly always been paid at least twice the women’s fees, and he is understood to be unhappy that he couldn’t negotiate more for tonight’s one-off, The Ultimate Magician. But bosses at ITV and production company Thames wanted to ensure that all the judges’ salaries were in line.
Tonight’s episode, featuring magic acts from previous years, was recorded before Walliams’s vile comments made about contestants came to light. The comic will not feature on future series after making what he admitted were ‘disrespectful’ asides during auditions. One source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘David was told he couldn’t be paid what he wanted for the special.
‘The bosses understandably wanted to pay everyone the same. For years, Amanda and Alesha have been earning far less than David and have felt that to be extremely unfair.
‘They are just as valuable, if not more so, to the programme.’
Two years ago, the two women demanded to be paid the same as their male co-stars. It was then reported that Mrs Holden made about £700,000 and Mrs Dixon £450,000 per series, compared to £1.5 million for Walliams and £2.5 million for Simon Cowell, who helped create the show but is not in tonight’s episode due to plans in America.
He is replaced by magician Penn Jillette. Hosts Ant and Dec are also not in the programme, with Stephen Mulhern stepping in.
Thames and Walliams’s representatives declined to comment.