Beau Ryan faced tough questioning from his Triple M co-hosts over Amazing Race Australia salaries.
With a boosted budget and top-tier celebrities on board, this season’s cast is raking in a collective $1.5million – a notable jump from last year’s $1million pot, Daily Mail exclusively revealed this week.
The topic came up during his Triple M Breakfast show with Beau Cat and Woodsy on Thursday, where the host was quick to downplay the numbers quoted.
‘I’m not privy to what everyone’s getting paid,’ he said.
‘After seeing some of the numbers that were suggested, they’re not right, okay, they’re not that much.’
‘We don’t have to pay them as much as a lot of people think,’ he added.
Beau Ryan suffered an uncomfortable grilling from his Triple M co-hosts over Amazing Race Australia salaries
‘Because firstly, you know, people either might be contracted at the network, or they might have a good relationship with people that work there, and they really want to do the show.’
However, Beau’s Triple M co-hosts Cat Lynch and Aaron Woods persisted in grilling Beau on the reported salaries, even bringing his own under the spotlight.
‘That’s all he said, she said,’ he replied sheepishly.
Beau then doubled down on his earlier assertion that the stars of the current season were not getting paid as much as some might assume.
‘The show this year is doing record numbers, right? The launch was one of our highest ever, and then we backed it up the second night. It’s just building and building. The numbers are incredible,’ he said.
‘A lot of people framed it like that was because of the celebrities, and we spent a lot more money. That’s not true! We didn’t spend more money.’
Daily Mail exclusively revealed the salaries of the current crop of Amazing Race Australia stars.
Former MasterChef judge Melissa Leong and Gretel Killeen lead the pack with a rumoured $150,000 each in their pocket.
With a boosted budget and top-tier celebrities on board, this season’s cast is raking in a collective $1.5million – a notable jump from last year’s $1 million pot, Daily Mail exclusively revealed this week
The topic was broached on his Triple M Breakfast with Beau Cat and Woodsy on Thursday, and Beau responded with: I’m not privy to what everyone’s getting paid. After seeing some of the numbers that were suggested, they’re not right, okay, they’re not that much’
Ant Middleton, the ex-SAS star, wasn’t far behind, reportedly locking in around $140,000 for himself and his brother Dan before his abrupt exit from the competition.
The pair were booted from the show this week after breaching the code of conduct.
It was later alleged by fellow contestants Luke and ‘Sassy’ Scott O’Halloran that Dan had subjected the TikTok stars to ‘homophobic slurs’.
Also cashing in are Ed Kavalee and Tiffiny Hall, who together secured about $120,000.
Meanwhile, lesser-known faces Luke and ‘Sassy’ Scott are believed to be walking away with about $90,000.
Parkour pro Dom ‘Tomato’ Di Tommaso and his teammate Marx Marsters were reportedly paid less, as were comedy siblings Steph and Ben Tisdell.
In comparison, last year’s contestants shared a $1million budget, with top-tier celebs pulling in around $100,000 each.
This year’s larger budget reflects the network’s commitment to drawing in high-profile talent.
Beau’s comments come after Daily Mail exclusively revealed the salaries of the current crop of Amazing Race Australia stars
Former MasterChef judge Melissa Leong (pictured) and Gretel Killeen lead the pack with a rumoured $150,000 in their pocket
But the big question is why Channel 10 is going all out this year.
As dating shows like The Bachelor face the axe and other reality formats get the chop, the network is determined to lure viewers back to their screens.
‘They’re shaking things up and investing in big names to create must-watch TV,’ the insider said.
‘With other shows being cut, they know they need something huge to bring audiences back, and paying these celebrities well is part of that strategy.’