Girls Aloud, Will Young and Leona Lewis have come out on top in the reality TV rich list. The compilation features the top 25 people or acts, all of whom have launched their careers though reality shows.
The research was conducted for Current TV to coincide with their season Desperately Seeking Fame, which airs today at 10pm.
The first Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts is at No 7 with an estimated £5 million, boding well for this year’s finalists. The UK’s first Big Brother winner Craig Phillips and Loose Woman Jane McDonald also feature in the top 10, as does the late Jade Goody.
Girls Aloud earned an estimated £25 million in the seven years since they shot to stardom on ITV’s Popstars: The Rivals.
The five member girl group are followed by Pop Idol winner Will Young, worth £12.5 million according to the research, and X Factor superstar Leona Lewis, who in fewer than three years is thought to have accumulated £10 million, having amassed massive sales on both sides of the Atlantic.
The list was compiled after discussions with talent agents, production companies, accountants and journalists, and includes newspaper and magazine fee-based interviews, follow up TV shows, tours, book deals, personal appearance fees, and other brand affiliations.
The chart focused on the TV series that champion unknown personalities, such as Big Brother, Popstars, Pop Idol, X Factor, Survivor, Fame Academy, Shipwrecked, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do.
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The Top 20
1. GIRLS ALOUD £25 million
Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh, Sarah Harding
Girls Aloud won Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, and monstered the UK charts with their first single. But they seemed to fade until staging a massive comeback, starting in 2007. They’ve proved they’ve got real staying power, producing a stream of top ten UK albums, and launching their bestselling autobiography last year. As for all music stars, the big money is in touring and merchandising, and they are working their little stilettos off right now on a major UK tour, just as they did last year. They have had some lucrative advertising contracts, for Kit Kat and Nintendo. Cheryl Cole gets an extra £1.5 million for her new role in reality television, as a judge on The X Factor, and the others all have individual ad and modelling deals.
2. WILL YOUNG £12.5 million. Age: 30
It is seven years since Will Young won Pop Idol, and he has earned consistently well ever since. All four of his albums have charted well, with his fourth, out last year, going in at no. 2. He did a solid 17 date tour to support it last year, culminating with performing at the o2 with Elton John on New ear’s Eve. This year he has a smattering of festival and other dates, but is working mainly on a new dance/pop album. He has made a couple of successful ventures into action, in the film Mrs Henderson Presents, with Judi Dench, and on stage in a Noel Coward play. Having survived the first critical years, it looks as if his career has legs.
3. LEONA LEWIS £10million. Age: 24
Leona won The X Factor in 2006, and since then her career has zoomed into the stratosphere. Unlike most reality TV one-hit wonders, she has a huge career already- and the best is yet to come. She’s made the important transition from UK star to international star, making it big in the US market. The critical second album comes out in November, and will be backed by an international tour. She’s our top tip for a career that will run and run.
4. JADE GOODY £8 million. 5th June 1981- 22 March 2009
Without talent or education, Jade could so easily have been one of the many ex-BB stars who burn brightly for a few months and then fade back to oblivion. But something about her disingenuous charm and her truly horrific childhood took a trick with the British public, and her great achievement was to build a lasting career out of fame. She ‘wrote’ books, put her name to fragrances, fronted her own TV shows, and made countless appearances in celebrity magazines- all for good financial deals. Even the racism row that boiled over after she took part in Celebrity Big Brother was soon forgotten, eclipsed by the news of her terminal cancer. More books followed, and there was a £700,000 deal for coverage of her wedding, a month before her death. Her legacy: a touching wish that her two young sons should have a better childhood and education than she had.
5. MYLEENE KLASS £7.5 million. Age: 31
Winning Popstars in 2001 with the manufactured band Hear’Say was Myleene’s first stab at fame and fortune- but it didn’t last. Within two years the band had broken up acrimoniously. Her career as a classical musician and a TV and radio presenter staggered along until she appeared in I’m A Celebrity- Get Me out of Here in 2006- when her bikini showers wowed the nation. She has gone on to major success as a presenter on the One Show, Last Choir Standing, and Ten Years Younger, as well as hosting two radio shows. But her highest profile has been her M&S ad campaign, and although the credit crunch has seen her contract slashed from £1 million a year to £750,000, it’s still a nice little earner. Add on her Pantene ads, and her contract with Mothercare for her own baby clothes range.
6. GARETH GATES £6.5 million. Age: 24
Two thirds of this money was earned in the first two sensational years after coming runner up to Will Young in Pop Stars. Back then, it seemed as if Gareth was the real winner, landing a couple of plum advertising contracts and watching his album go straight into the charts at no.2. But the critical second album flopped, and Gareth’s career went with it. He dropped out sight for a while, taking time away from performing to qualify as a speech coach. But last Christmas he was back on stage in panto, and February this year took over from Lee Mead as Joseph on the West End stage. He says his future career lies in musicals, not producing albums.
7. PAUL POTTS £5 million. Age: 38
Winning Britain’s Got Talent in 2007 launched Carphone Warehouse manager Paul on his dream career, as a ‘pop’ opera singer. His first album, One Chance, was huge across Europe- he has a very solid fan base in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia. He has even starred in a Japanese ad campaign for a throat medicine. His long-term future depends on the success of his second album, Passione, released here on June 1st, but it’s safe to say he won’t have to sell mobile phones again.
8. CRAIG PHILLIPS £5 million. Age: 37
Craig won the first ever Big Brother- and famously gave his prize money away. But he didn’t feel the financial draught, because he has been earning a very steady income from TV, personal appearances, advertising campaigns, and lectures on cruise ships. He has made more than 800 TV programmes, always in his role as a builder and DIY expert. He has his own production company, and makes films for building companies. If we were to factor in his property empire, he would be much higher up this list- but we have stuck to earnings from showbusiness. His biography comes out next month (June) and he has even signed up to do panto next Christmas.
9. LEMAR £4million. Age: 31
You probably can’t remember who beat Lemar on Fame Academy in 2002, because the real winner was the man who came third- and who has become the best black British male soul singer of recent years. With two Brit awards and three Mobos, Lemar has established a career with legs. He can pack a concert tour, and he has sold more than two million albums. Oh, and in case you are interested: the winner was David Sneddon. Remember him?
10. JANE McDONALD £3.5 million. Age: 46
It is eleven years since Jane catapulted to fame as the struggling singer on a cruise ship, featured in a BBC top-ratings series. A number one album and sell-out tours followed, and an autobiography made the bestsellers list. She even did a stint in Las Vegas. But her career slumped after her first two albums and the break up of her marriage. She’s now enjoying a revival, thanks to her popularity on ITV’s Loose Women. She’s in the middle of a sell-out tour and her latest album reached number seven.
11. LIBERTY X £3million
Michelle Heaton, Jessica Taylor, Kelli Young, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm
They were originally dubbed ‘flopstars’, because the band was made from the singers who failed to make the Hear’Say lineup. But they quickly established themselves as a cooler crowd, and over six years they produced 10 top twenty hit singles, sold more than a million albums and picked up two Brit awards. Since they split in 2007 two of the girls have kept high profiles: Jessica Taylor, 28, who is married to cricketing star Kevin Pietersen, and Michelle Heaton, also 28, who keeps popping up guesting on TV programmes, and last year made a documentary about girls who binge drink. Both have a lucrative sideline modelling: Michelle modelled a range of lingerie for Asda, and Jessica is the face and body of the new underwear line at Tesco’s.
12. BRIAN DOWLING £2.5 million. Age: 30
His combination of a sharp wit and an endearing naivete made him the easy winner of the second Big Brother series, eight years ago- and later won him the vote for the most popular BB winner ever. A TV career beckoned, and at first he did well, with a twenty month run fronting the SM:TV Live children’s show, followed by a prime time series, Brian’s Boyfriends. But he has failed to parlay it into a top line career, now doing work for corporate companies, voice-overs for ads, and recently a Christmas run in panto in Dublin. He refreshed his profile with an appearance in Hell’s Kitchen in 2007- he came third. It may not have been the dazzling career that was predicted for him- but it sure has earned him a better living than being a Ryanair trolley dolly.
13. BEN FOGLE £2 million. Age: 35
In 2000 the BBC marooned 36 people on an island off Scotland for a whole year of reality TV, monitoring their lives. Ben’s good looks and enthusiasm took a trick, and since then he has become a successful and busy presenter of countryside programmes, including Countryfile, Country Tracks, Animal Park and One Man and his Dog. He rowed the Atlantic naked with James Cracknell, and they have teamed up again to take part in a race to the South Pole, which will be televised soon. The Atlantic row spawned a bestselling book, and South Pole race is set to do the same.
14. KYM MARSH £1.8 million. Age: 32
Fame came- and went – with Hear’Say, which lasted less than two years. Her solo career as a singer was short lived, and for a couple of years she was more famous for her private life than for any work. But in 2004 she re-invented herself as an actress and stage performer, taking to the West End boards as Annette in Saturday Night Fever for an eight month run. She did panto, appeared in Holby City and Doctors, before landing a recurring role in Hollyoaks. Stability has come with her Corrie contract, which pays £100,000 a year
14. SUZANNE SHAW £1.4 million. Age: 27
Another refugee from Hear’Say who has turned to the stage for a living. She has appeared in Summer Holiday, Joseph, The Rocky Horror Show and, most recently, Chicago. Winning the third series of Dancing On Ice boosted her profile and popularity, and the tour helped her bank balance. She has also done two ad campaigns for the George Ultimo lingerie range at Asda. She presents a live gameshow on the Virgin1 channel.
15. ABIGAIL CLANCY £1.25 million. Age: 23
She may have only been runner up on Britain’s Next Top Model three years ago, but she was winner in terms of her career: she has been in great demand for glamour shoots ever since. And becoming a WAG, as girlfriend of England player Peter Crouch, has increased Abbey’s profile. Their relationship even survived revelations about her use of cocaine when she was a teenager. She has renewed her lucrative contract with Matalan to model their swimwear collection, and she has also had contracts with Pussy Galore lingerie and Ultimo bras. She’s hoping that fronting the ITV2 series The Fashion Show will open the door to more presenting jobs. She’s appeared in Hell’s Kitchen, and surprised everyone by winning Chris Moyles’ Quiz Night, even beating the cerebral Stephen Fry.
16. CHARLOTTE HOBROUGH £1.2 million. Age: 33
The winner of the first Survivor series was dubbed Charlotte ‘the harlot’ because of her on-screen antics. The policewoman from South Wales took a three year break from being a cop after winning the £1 million prize, but failed to make a media career from her fame- her attempts at TV presenting, including a stint on Channel Four’s Big Breakfast, fizzled out. She made more money from a few personal appearances. But it’s her winnings that bought her a £400,000 dream home, a Porsche Boxter, exotic holidays and a ManU season ticket for her police sergeant husband. She rejoined the police three years after her win, and both she and her husband have been promoted- she’s now a sergeant, he’s and inspector.
17. CHANTELLE HOUGHTON £1 million. Age: 25
When she walked into the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2006, she was a nobody with 8p in her bank account. By convincing the genuine celebs that she was one of them, she won the hearts of the nation and walked out three weeks later as the winner. She picked up £25,000 straightaway, and there followed a slew of celebrity magazine fashion shoots, TV shows and personal appearances that swelled her account. Her marriage to fellow contestant Preston landed them a £300,000 deal with OK! magazine. But since that heady first year, Chantelle’s star has been in decline, both professionally and personally. She divorced Preston after a marriage of just over a year, and now makes fewer and fewer fee-paying appearances. A brief romance with Spurs player Jermaine Defoe briefly put her back in the spotlight and gave her another story to sell, but there is no burgeoning career ahead of her.
18. JONNY GIBB £1 million. Age: 38
Despite the huge £1 million prize money , Survivor never achieved the success ITV planned for it. The second series was won, again, by a policeman, a detective constable from Edinburgh. Jonny had no plans for a showbiz career, and immediately took off using his winnings to fund travel around the world. Now back in Edinburgh, he works as a personal trainer and has a settled family life- and nobody ever recognises him.
20. DARIUS DANESH £900,000. Age: 28
After failing to get into Hear’Say on Popstars, Darius had another shot at a reality break with Pop Idol, coming third to Will Young and Gareth Gates. But it was enough to lad him a recording deal, with a platinum selling album of songs he wrote himself- a fact which greatly increases the percentage a performer gets. When his recording career fizzled out, he took to the stage, doing two West End run in Chicago and starring in Guys and Dolls. Last year’s hyped musical Gone With the Wind was a major flop, but he got good reviews.
21. LEE MEAD £850,000
Age: 27
Newly married to Denise van Outen, Lee is currently in talks about his next project- and watching the sales of his second album, which came out in March, creep upwards. When he won Any Dream Will Do in June 2007, he walked into a six month contract to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph. Before he even took to the stage, ticket sales were so great that his contract was extended by six months- and when he finally came out of the show in January he had done 18 months. The stage role will have netted him half a million, with the rest coming from album sales (the first went double gold) and concert fees. What he does next will be crucial to career longevity- he talks vaguely about working with Andrew Lloyd Webber again, and says he also has options to appear in a musical version of Roman Holiday or play the tragic rock star Marc Bolan on stage.
22. JEREMY SPAKE £800,000
Age: 41
The BBC’s fly-on-the-wall series Airport launched the camp, Russian-speaking Jeremy into our homes, and a modestly successful TV career was born. The BBC signed him up for two years as a presenter. He fronted two series of The Toughest Job in Britain, appeared on holiday programmes, and published books about airports and to accompany the toughest jobs series. He was in Red Square for the Beeb for the Millennium, and he covered the total eclipse of the sun for them from Cornwall. Over recent years his career has fizzled out.
23. CONNIE FISHER £750,000
Age: 25
Winning Andrew Lloyd Webber’s How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? launched Connie on to the West End stage. Initially, she was paid only £1,500 a week to star in The Sound of Music, but this was upped to £6,000, and her initial six month run was extended for a further ten months. Her two solo albums have not set the world on fire, although the first made it to no.14 in the charts. Her first planned solo tour was cancelled because of poor ticket sales, and a second tour, this year, was called off for her to have an operation on her vocal chords. She did a short stint starring in They’re Playing Our Song at the small Menier theatre, and she will be back as Maria when The Sound of Music goes on tour this summer. Not a fabulous career ahead, but she should be able to earn her way on the musical stage.
24. KATE LAWLER £700,000
Age: 29
Although she won the third series of Big Brother, Kate was completely eclipsed by Jade Goody, who came third. But Kate has made a steady living as a radio DJ and, occasionally, as a TV presenter. She has also taken part in other reality shows, like Celebrity Wrestling and Love Island. She has a long standing modelling contract for Ann Summers lingerie, and has carved out a name for herself as a club DJ, with a residency in Manchester and a diary of gigs.
25. RAY QUINN £400,000
Age: 20
He was runner up in the final of X Factor in 2006 to the phenomenal Leona Lewis, but since then he has produced one album which soared to number one, and completed a sell-out tour in the autumn of 2007. But he was then dropped by his record company. A role in Grease, on the West End stage, partially revived his fortunes, but it was winning Dancing On Ice earlier this year that really brought him back into the limelight. He is once again in Grease- but now he’s playing the lead role, and taking home a healthy pay packet.