David Gest has signed up to appear on 'Celebrity Big Brother'.
David Gest
The larger-than-life personality has negotiated a deal for £600,000 to take part in the reality TV show when it kicks off on Channel 5 on January 5.
According to a source close to the show, the deal makes him one of the highest paid stars ever to appear on 'CBB'.
Producers were desperate to secure Gest in a bid to bring a much wider audience to the show which it has been lacking in recent series as well as the much-needed humour the series has been missing.
The signing is a huge coup for producers as Gest has turned down many lucrative UK television programmes in the last three years because he got tired of being on TV after making more than a hundred television appearances on various shows including the highest rated 'Celebrity Come Dine With Me' in history where he had his good friend, the late Mickey Rooney, in his living room.
A source told BANG Showbiz: "It's a big deal to get Gest in the house - he has pretty much turned his back on reality TV in the last few years instead choosing to focus on his actual jobs of being a concert-and-television producer as well as a live artist. But now he's signed on the dotted line he's sure to be very popular with his stories about his close friends Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston and of course he has a legion of fans to get behind him from his stint in the jungle on 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' who fell in love with his antics."
Gest won millions of fans in Britain when he made his television debut on 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' in 2006. His stories about his housekeeper Vaginica Seaman as well as tales about his family and the Albino Heights Hotel in Detroit became legendary.
According to the source, 'CBB' bosses have been trying to get him in the house for the last few years but Gest flatly turned down all previous offers.
While he's been off screen, Gest has spent much of his time touring the UK with his soul review of legendary R&B performers such as Bill Medley, Deniece Williams and Freda Payne, as well as producing the Universal Pictures smash movie 'Michael Jackson: The Life of An Icon' which has been seen by millions throughout the world.
Other stars believed to be going into the 'CBB' house include Vanilla Ice, Stephanie Davis, Darren Day, Gemma Collins and Angie Bowie.
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