Celebrity Big Brother bosses are reportedly planning on offering Sarah Ferguson £500,000 to take part in the upcoming series of the show.

Reality TV juggernaut Big Brother returned to screens on ITV2 in October this year after it was axed from Channel 5, five years earlier in 2018.

And ITV executives are said to be keen to sign the Duchess of York, 64, in a bid to pull in big audiences.

An ITV source told the Mirror: ‘Sarah would be a brilliant signing for Celebrity Big Brother. She is very smart, engaging and funny. Not to mention the millions of viewers she would pull in if she began talking to housemates about the Royal Family and Prince Andrew.

‘Sarah has never considered reality formats in the past but ITV bosses are hoping their offer might change that position.

Celebrity Big Brother bosses are reportedly planning on offering Sarah Ferguson £500,000 to take part in the upcoming series of the show

‘Signing her would be a massive coup. That’s why they are digging deep for the offer they plan to make her.’

A Big Brother spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Any names for Celebrity Big Brother are purely speculation.’

It is understood the royal impressed channel bigwigs after she co-hosted and guest-edited an episode of This Morning last month.

Fergie said of the role: ‘I have appeared on This Morning before, but this time I am coming back in a very different role.

‘I love live TV and am an enormous fan of the show, and the whole team is always lovely to deal with.

‘I’m looking forward to being there for the whole morning, and thrilled to be guest editing the show which will mean getting to explore some topics that I’m passionate about.’

Sarah would not be the first person with royal connections to make a reality television appearance after Mike Tindall took part in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! last year.

The move could be a wise one for Sarah if she signs up for Celebrity Big Brother after rugby royal Mike saw his wealth rocket to almost £1million following his appearance on I’m A Celebrity.

It is understood the royal impressed channel bigwigs after she co-hosted and guest-edited an episode of This Morning last month (L-R: This Morning’s Dermot O’Leary, guest host Sarah, and regular host Alison Hammond pictured on the show last month)

Figures for his company Kimble Trading Limited show reserves held by the firm more than doubled from £440,000 to £930,000 in the time covered by the show.

The return is the best performance for the company in years and follows his successful stint on the ITV celebrity show in which he finished fourth, impressing fans with his down to earth character and hilarious royal anecdotes.

Kimble Trading had assets of £1.3 million, but owed creditors £439,000 including £101,000 to HMRC, but was still left with the very healthy balance.

The figures are for the 12 months to the end of March this year, covering the time of his appearance in the ITV show last year.

Mike, 45, married to Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Phillips, 42, won praise for his down to earth nature and calmness as well as his tales of the royal family.

Sarah would not be the first person with royal connections to make a reality television appearance after Mike Tindall took part in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! last year (Mike pictured on the ITV show in November last year)

In one he recalled ripping his trousers while performing a ‘slut drop’ dance move in front of Princess Anne to reveal his underpants said ‘nibble my nuts’.

He said the Princess Anne took one look and said ‘I’d rather not.’

In another he revealed that he and Zara bonded over an alcohol fuelled lunch on their first real date.

He said: ‘Ended up being quite a boozy one. Then we figured out that we both quite like getting smashed. It was a good start.’

Mike saw his wealth rocket to almost £1million following his appearance on I’m A Celebrity (Mike and his wife, Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Phillips, pictured  in June 2023)