Jonathan Ross and Jimmy Carr reportedly paid 'up to £5k' to appear on 'for charity' Catchphrase special

Stars like Jonathan Ross, Catherine Tyldesley, and Jimmy Carr have been accused or receiving substantial fees for their recent appearances on Celebrity Catchphrase.

While Catchphrase is not specifically branding the one-off shows as ‘for charity’ in its title, the money all the featured celebs ‘win’ during their time on the show does go to their chosen charity.

So when it was claimed stars that recently appeared on the game show hosted by Stephen Mulhern received a large fee despite it being in aid of charity, it came as a shock to many.

The Sun claim that the above stars, including Birds of a Feather’s Linda Robson and Cold Feet’s Fay Ripley were also paid four-figure sums to appear on the programme.

The source said: ‘It came as a surprise to find out the celebrities were getting paid when the show appears to be just for charity.’

‘Obviously they are giving their time for good causes, but viewers probably wouldn’t expect the stars to be paid.’

According to the paper, Ross is just one celeb who featured that actually donated their fee to charity, even though ITV would not divulge any details regarding contestant contracts. ‘We never discuss artist contracts,’ an ITV spokesperson said.

The show, originally hosted by legendary presenter Roy Walker and made famous in the 1980s, has enjoyed a revival since returning to ITV in 2013.

For the past five years it has been hosted by Mulhern, with a number of series taking place and a scattering of celeb specials.

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