Celebrity Big Brother has reportedly gone all out for its launch night panel on the spin-off show.
ITV bosses are said to have ‘blown the budget’ securing superstar comedian Alan Carr for Monday’s Late and Live.
Actor Mickey Rourke – who has an estimated net worth of £3.8million ($5million) – is being paid a huge six-figure sum to appear on the ITV show alongside the likes of JoJo Siwa, Chesney Hawkes and Patsy Palmer.
And it seems there is also no expense spared for Late and Live’s launch night either, with The Sun reporting that Chatty Man Alan is set to sit on the panel.
A source told the publication: ‘Alan Carr is the first guest on Late And Live tonight, they wanted to blow the budget and get a really good name on.
‘He’d be a dream CBB signing but they’ll have to make do with him being on the spin off show for now.’
Celebrity Big Brother has reportedly gone all out for its launch night panel on the spin-off show Late and Live on Monday, signing up a huge star
ITV bosses are said to have ‘blown the budget’ securing superstar comedian Alan Carr for Monday’s Late and Live (Seen in February)
MailOnline has approached ITV for comment.
It was reported after the signing of star Mickey that there are fears that the acting icon could decide to leave the Big Brother house early, which has been described as a ‘worse-case scenario’ for broadcasters.
‘The last time he was really big was during The Wrestler, and he like everyone else needs to pay some bills,’ a source told MailOnline.
‘So doing the show is a no brainer. He’s a producers dream because he has loads of stories, is a loose cannon, he is considered a huge get.
‘Producers always hope for the train-wreck but being a revelation works as well, if we see a new side of Mickey that could work.
‘The worst-case scenario would be if he left early. When he did The Masked Singer a few years ago, he eliminated himself.’
Mickey will reportedly appear on Big Brother alongside Love Island’s Chris Hughes, Olympian Daley Thompson, Coronation Street legend Jack P Shepherd, politician Sir Michael Fabricant and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard, among others.
Trisha Goddard, Donna Preston, Ella Rae Wise and Angellica Bell are also in the running.
Actor Mickey Rourke is being paid a huge six-figure sum to appear on the ITV show alongside the likes of JoJo Siwa , Chesney Hawkes and Patsy Palmer
MailOnline contacted ITV and Mickey’s representatives for comment at the time.
Mickey, 72, marks one of the show’s biggest signings in history and with public feuds with Robert De Niro, two marriages and a string of high profile relationships, producers will be hoping the he brings plenty of drama to the house.
In the past Mickey has been open about his changing face throughout the years, claiming to have undergone plastic surgery predominantly for facial restructuring due to injuries from boxing.
He told DailyMail.com in 2009: ‘Most of it was to mend the mess of my face after the boxing. I went to the wrong guy to put my face back together.’
Mickey continued: ‘I had my nose broken twice. I had five operations on my nose and one on a smashed cheekbone.
Mickey has previously discussed hitting rock bottom and being completely broke before his career resurgence
‘I had to have cartilage taken from my ear to rebuild my nose and a couple of operations to scrape out the cartilage because the scar tissue wasn’t healing properly,’ calling it one of the most ‘painful operations’ he’s had.
He has notoriously battled addiction – both drugs and alcohol – in the past and has taken blame for his own career decline over the years.
Mickey has also opened up about his regret over taking steroids and eating huge meals six times a day to gain weight for his role in 2008 movie, The Wrestler.
Celebrity Big Brother returns on Monday at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
CELEBRITY BIG BROTHER 2025: MEET THE LINEUP!
MICKEY ROURKE
AGE: 72
FAMOUS FOR: The actor and former pro boxer is one of the show’s biggest ever signings and after public feuds with Robert De Niro, two marriages and a string of high profile relationships, producers will be hoping he brings plenty of drama.
DALEY THOMPSON
AGE: 66
FAMOUS FOR: The double Olympic gold-medallist is considered one of Britain’s greatest athletes, and he would no doubt cause a stir with younger celebrities if he entered the house. He broke the decathlon world record four times.
PATSY PALMER
AGE: 52
FAMOUS FOR: It’s an open secret that Patsy is leaving EastEnders, with the actress enjoying a wild leaving party this month. The Bianca Jackson star posted a snap of her character on Instagram with the caption: ‘Bye bye B, always grateful to see her again.’
DONNA PRESTON
AGE: 38
FAMOUS FOR: While Donna has featured in several TV shows and movies, the comedy star is known for hosting Apocalypse and for the role of a circus Compere in 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald. She plays Den in Coronation Street, has featured in Pants On Fire in 2019 and even wrote and co-produced BBC Three’s Comedy Threesomes.
CHESNEY HAWKES
AGE: 53
FAMOUS FOR: The singer topped the charts for five weeks in 1991 with his hit The One And Only, before making a string of acting and TV appearances. His arrival on CBB has been described by a TV source as ‘perfect timing’, as he’s set to release a comeback album in April.
ANGELICA BELL
AGE: 49
FAMOUS FOR: The TV presenter is said to have landed a staggering five-figure deal to appear on Celebrity Big Brother. Fans will be keen to see if the CBBC legend spills all on her untimely exit from The Martin Lewis Show – which left fans baffled back in 2023. Angellica currently co-presents Hits Radio while Fleur East is on maternity leave.
DANNY BEARD
AGE: 32
FAMOUS FOR: The RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner – whose real name is Daniel Curtis – has signed up as a late entry. Danny previously made headlines after swearing on Big Brother’s Late & Live last March whilst doing an impression of housemate Louis Walsh. The incident saw the guest say the word ‘c***’ before immediately apologising after being informed they weren’t allowed to say that on the show.
CHRIS HUGHES
AGE: 32
FAMOUS FOR: After shooting to fame on Love Island in 2017, Chris went on to become a sports presenter and regularly hosts the horse racing coverage on ITV.
JOJO SIWA
AGE: 21
FAMOUS FOR: The American singer, who shot to stardom on reality show Dance Moms, is expected to draw a big American audience. The hitmaker has made a name for herself in the U.S. pop charts and is known for her outlandish looks and being a vocal member of the LGBTQ+ community.
TRISHA GODDARD
AGE: 67
FAMOUS FOR: The talk show host regularly presented on ITV from 1998 to 2004 and then shifted to Channel 5 from 2004 to 2010. Trisha has been suffering horrible side effects of her chemotherapy – but has bravely battled on.
JACK P. SHEPHERD
AGE: 37
FAMOUS FOR: The actor has played David Platt in Corrie since 2000 and is following in his pal Colson Smith’s footsteps by taking part in the popular reality show. He has won a string of awards for the role including Best Actor at the British Soap Awards.
ELLA RAE WISE
AGE: 24
FAMOUS FOR: Producers have been keen to land the TV personality, who previously dated Pete Wicks and has had an on-off romance with Dan Edgar. Bosses are hoping the TOWIE star might reveal all about some of her other famous exes.
MICHAEL FABRICANT
AGE: 74
FAMOUS FOR: The former Conservative politician is understood to have signed a lucrative six-figure deal to take part after political stars were banned from the broadcaster’s other reality show, I’m A Celeb. He served as MP for Lichfield in Staffordshire from 1992 until his defeat in 2024 as well as vice-chairman of the party under David Cameron. But he is perhaps best known for his blonde mop for which he has been widely ridiculed but repeatedly denies is a wig.
