Louis Walsh’s secret demand to Celebrity Big Brother bosses after Sharon Osbourne signs up as surprise houseguest
LOUIS Walsh issued telly bosses with a big deal-breaker while negotiating his Celebrity Big Brother stint, The Sun can exclusively reveal.
The X Factor star is believed to have landed himself a bumper six-figure pay packet to take part in the ITV show - but it all balanced on a huge demand.
Louis, 71, insisted he would only go into the CBB house if his close friend and former X Factor co-star Sharon Osbourne joined him.
Producers eventually granted the Irish music mogul his wish, but only after some serious negotiations with Sharon, also 71.
It was feared CBB could lose both the stars due to Sharon's hefty price tag for an entire series.
As she was so expensive, Sharon will now appear as a special house guest for the first few days of the new series.
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But luckily this meant Louis was more than happy to sign on the dotted line.
A source tells us: “Louis made it clear to Celebrity Big Brother producers that he would only go in the house if his pal Sharon Osbourne was in there too.
"He was in two minds about whether to do the show because he knows it can be really intense and challenging, but he knew he’d have a hoot if Sharon was in there with him.
“He and Sharon haven’t done a TV show together since their glory days on The X Factor, so he was also confident that the public would lap up seeing them reunited.”
The source adds: “The execs were really keen to make it happen too, but they couldn’t afford Sharon’s fee for the whole run so they were worried they would lose them both.
"In the end, they managed to came up with the compromise of booking Sharon as a special guest housemate who will come in during the run for a few days.
"Louis was more than happy with that, and Sharon’s chuffed too as she gets to make a big entrance, cause a bit of havoc and then leave them to it. She and Louis are going to be TV gold together again.”
The Sun contacted both ITV and Louis's spokesperson for comment.
Louis and Sharon worked together as judges on The X Factor for a big chunk of the show's 14-year reign.
The pair were notorious for causing trouble on set and they were best pals off screen, too.
Sharon and Louis last appeared on The X Factor together in 2017. The show was axed after the following series.
Celebrity Big Brother kicks off on Monday with a movie-length launch show.
The Sun revealed the full Celebrity Big Brother line up today, which also includes Love Island, Strictly and This Morning stars.
But Sharon won't be entering the CBB house alongside all the other contestants.
Another source said: “Sharon is a guest housemate and won’t be going in on launch night.
“Instead she will come in once the show has started and will be there for a few days.
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“The fee she wanted was eye-watering and in the end they struck a deal which meant she would go in for a shorter run.
“It’s worked out well for everyone as she will inject some drama when she finally walks through the doors.”
