Richard Wilkins offered staggering paycheck to appear on MAFS

Channel Nine presenter Richard Wilkins has revealed the eye-watering amount of money he was offered to appear on a celebrity version of Married At First Sight, suggesting there could be a season in the works.

The veteran entertainment reporter told Nova's Fitzy & Wippa on Tuesday morning he had previously been approached to appear on a star-studded season of the popular reality TV show.

"[Former Nine CEO] David Gyngell once said to me, 'Mate, I'll give you ...' I won't mention the amount of money, but a lot of zeros, if you do Celebrity Married At First Sight," the 67-year-old told the program.

He did not reveal when he was approached about the deal, but Gyngell stepped down as the Nine CEO in 2015.

It is not likely Richard would appear in a celebrity spin-off of MAFS, as he has been in a relationship with Nicole Dale since 2020.

Channel Nine is yet to make any comment about a celebrity MAFS season and whether Richard was approached, however, leaked texts from expert John Aiken in 2020 suggested the spin-off was in the pipeline.

In a leaked screenshot of a text message, released by Now to Love, John revealed a celebrity MAFS season could be going ahead.

"As you know by now from our email conversation you will not be the only celebrity on MAFS 2021," the text said.

"We are currently trying to figure out if we want a celebrity marrying a celebrity for the season or celebrities paired up with strangers on the outside.

"We will have a video call tomorrow morning to discuss agreements further and I'll let you know the other celebrity names who are currently on board."

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A source also told New Idea in 2021 there were talks about a celebrity edition.

"If we want the show to keep going, we need to be bold and change things up," an anonymous producer at Endemol Shine told New Idea.

"A celebrity edition is exactly what MAFS needs – it's a tried and tested format."

The Nine Network has not yet responded to requests for comment.

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