Fans’ fury at Full Monty stars’ pay for show that raised just £4k

Celebrities were under pressure yesterday to give away the £10,000 fees they were reportedly paid for stripping off on ITV’s The Real Full Monty charity show.

BBC2 presenter Victoria Derbyshire and Loose Women’s Coleen Nolan were among the eight stars called upon by outraged viewers to donate their fee to charity.

The show, in aid of breast cancer awareness, was even labelled a ‘farce’, as it emerged earlier this week that it raised only £4,000 for charity.

The Real Full Monty: Ladies’ Night, aired last month, followed the women as they prepared to strip in front of millions live, while encouraging the public to regularly check for signs of cancer.

Celebrities were under pressure yesterday to give away the £10,000 fees they were reportedly paid for stripping off on ITV’s The Real Full Monty charity show

Even though ITV said the show was not a charity fundraiser and did not ask for donations, viewers said the fact celebrities were reportedly paid a vast sum of money was ‘a disgrace’.

One wrote online: ‘If you’re doing something for charity it should be unpaid … not impressed.’

Another said they were ‘absolutely disgusted’ by the payment, while a third tweeted: ‘Are they that hard up for cash? Donate the fee to the charity you’re supposed to be supporting!’

Meanwhile, another viewer wrote: ‘What a farce the “Full Monty Cancer Appeal” by so-called caring stars … Greedy sods I say donate your fees now.’

Miss Derbyshire, 49, and Miss Nolan, 53, were joined by former Liberty X singer Michelle Heaton, 38, Hi-de-Hi! star Ruth Madoc, 74, and reality TV star Megan McKenna, 25, at the live show at Sheffield City Hall in March.

DJ and former MTV host Sarah-Jane Crawford, 34, comedian Helen Lederer, 63, and Emmerdale actress Sally Dexter, 57, made up the rest of the group.

Miss Derbyshire and Miss Nolan were joined by former Liberty X singer Michelle Heaton (pictured), Hi-de-Hi! star Ruth Madocand reality TV star Megan McKenna

Miss Derbyshire and Miss Nolan were joined by former Liberty X singer Michelle Heaton (pictured), Hi-de-Hi! star Ruth Madocand reality TV star Megan McKenna

The stars, who all have a personal link to cancer, performed a burlesque-inspired routine choreographed by Diversity star Ashley Banjo, set to This Is Me from the musical The Greatest Showman.

Starting the routine in full-length dresses, they stripped to black lingerie before removing their bras, while covering their breasts with large red feathers.

In the finale, they dropped the feathers in front of a crowd of 2,000. Meanwhile, a TV audience of 5.1million watched from their sofas, one million more than the men’s performance the night before.

In an interview before the programme, Miss Derbyshire was adamant the show was not simply ‘nudity for the sake of it’.

But a source told The Sun: ‘While it did raise huge awareness and encourage viewers to check their bodies, a host of the stars took a massive payday.

BBC2 presenter Victoria Derbyshire and Loose Women¿s Coleen Nolan (pictured front) were among the eight stars called upon by outraged viewers to donate their fee to charity

BBC2 presenter Victoria Derbyshire and Loose Women’s Coleen Nolan (pictured front) were among the eight stars called upon by outraged viewers to donate their fee to charity

‘It’s pretty appalling that this wasn’t made clear to viewers. Fans will be furious that they pocketed such huge sums.’

There is no suggestion that the women taking part in the show have done anything wrong.

Online donations have so far reached £4,218, which will be split among six cancer charities including CoppaFeel!, Prostate Cancer UK and Movember Foundation.

As well as a donations page, ITV also launched a ‘pledge page’ for members of the public to promise to check their breasts for signs of cancer. So far, 1,820 have signed the pledge.

Reality TV star Megan McKenna (pictured)

Reality TV star Megan McKenna (pictured)

A statement on the website read: ‘As some of our favourite celebrities bare all to raise awareness, we want you to take The Real Full Monty pledge and keep yourself checked for signs and symptoms of breast cancer, as well as encouraging friends and family to do the same.’

ITV said: ‘These programmes were never positioned as charity fundraisers or charity appeals. They were about encouraging viewers to take action and get checked, not asking them to donate money.

‘The people who took part have all been touched by cancer in some way in their lives and their passion for raising awareness was obvious to everyone watching.’

ITV added that the shows were its most popular factual programmes so far this year.

The row comes just one week after it was revealed the presenters of the Great British Bake Off were paid thousands to appear on charity editions of the show starring celebrity contestants.

Prue Leith is thought to have been paid £59,000 for her role as a judge on the five Stand Up To Cancer specials, while Paul Hollywood was paid £117,500.

Noel Fielding was paid £44,000 for his hosting duties, according to The Sun.

However, celebrities who made appearances on the five-week run, which ended last Tuesday, donated their entire fee.

Channel 4 claimed that the stars made a ‘significant donation’ to Stand Up To Cancer, but would not confirm how much went to the charity.

Online donations have so far reached £4,218, which will be split among six cancer charities including CoppaFeel!, Prostate Cancer UK and Movember Foundation

Online donations have so far reached £4,218, which will be split among six cancer charities including CoppaFeel!, Prostate Cancer UK and Movember Foundation



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