Revealed: How much the Big Brother housemates are paid

Yahoo Lifestyle can reveal just how much this year's Big Brother housemates are getting paid to participate in the reality TV show.

Big Brother: Royalty V New Blood returned to screens on Monday night, with fan favourites Tully Smyth, her former housemate and love interest Anthony Drew, 2003 winner Reggie Bird and 2013 winner Tim Dormer once again gracing our screens.

It has been revealed that all this year's returning Big Brother housemates were paid the same fee as the new contestants, all signing up for just $120 a day.

"Although you'd assume some of them would have bagged big fees, the majority of the old stars simply said yes as they know getting back in the public eye again will lead to more media work, brand deals and income outside of the show," a source said.

Fans slam Big Brother format

The reality show, which previously filmed live, got off to a shaky start after the premiere aired on Monday, with fans disappointed by the pre-recorded format and that the Australian public no longer vote out the evictees.

"I hate that they’ve changed it from the public voting! It brings out the worst in people & was much more interesting when the public could keep people in that they enjoyed watching!" one said on Twitter.

"This isn't BB ... it's Survivor in a mansion," another quipped.

"Remember on launch night they used to go in one by one and get a little background package and they used to walk down and the crowd used to cheer so loud. We’ve been robbed," a third added.

Shock Tully and Drew twist

Tully and Drew first fell in love in front of the nation in the 2013 season of Big Brother, despite Tully having a girlfriend outside of the house.

They are once again reunited on our screens, but host Sonia Kruger dropped the bombshell that Drew had already found a new girlfriend, housemate Sam.

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“Tim gleefully informs [Tully] that Drew has a new girlfriend. And Tully can’t quite believe it, because she’s like, how does he manage that in a matter of days?” Sonia revealed to Yahoo Lifestyle.

Sonia mentions that while Tully comes to terms with the fact that Drew has a new girlfriend, viewers can expect some “interesting” scenarios to come as a result.

“Without giving away the game, let’s just say it’s a bit of a roller coaster,” she teases.

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