Beau Ryan said he was not privy to the exact pay packets for contestants on the current season of Amazing Race Australia after a media report detailed what it called a significantly larger salary pool.
The topic arose on Ryan’s Triple M Breakfast program with co-hosts Cat Lynch and Aaron Woods on Thursday, when they pressed him about a Daily Mail report that this year’s celebrity cast was sharing a combined $1.5 million — up from about $1 million last year. Ryan told colleagues he had not seen contract details and disputed some of the numbers that were being circulated.
"I'm not privy to what everyone's getting paid," Ryan said on air. "After seeing some of the numbers that were suggested, they're not right, okay, they're not that much." He added that many participants either were contracted to the network already or had existing relationships at the broadcaster that affected terms. Lynch and Woods continued to press him about reported figures and about what he himself might be earning, which Ryan declined to confirm.
Daily Mail reported exclusively this week that former MasterChef judge Melissa Leong and presenter Gretel Killeen were among the highest-paid contestants, each reportedly receiving about $150,000. The outlet said ex-SAS member Ant Middleton and his brother Dan had secured about $140,000 before their abrupt exit from the series, and that performers including Ed Kavalee and Tiffiny Hall were paid about $120,000 between them. Daily Mail also reported that lesser-known contestants received smaller sums, with some teams reportedly earning about $90,000.
Ant and Dan Middleton were removed from the competition this week after producers said they breached the show’s code of conduct. Fellow contestants Luke and "Sassy" Scott O’Halloran alleged on-camera that Dan Middleton had used homophobic slurs; those allegations were reported by media outlets and have not been independently verified in court.
Ryan defended the production’s approach to casting and budgets, saying the season had drawn strong ratings. "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, arguing that viewership gains were not solely due to celebrity participants.
Channel 10 declined to comment directly to media about individual contracts when approached by other outlets, and those financial details have not been officially confirmed by the network. According to the Daily Mail report, the network increased its budget this season to attract higher-profile talent amid broader programming changes, with other reality formats reportedly being cut.
Last year’s contestants were reported to have shared a roughly $1 million budget, with top-tier celebrities understood to have received about $100,000 each. The network's reported decision to offer larger fees this season aligns with a stated strategy by some broadcasters to invest in marquee names to boost live audiences and advertising returns.
Ryan’s comments on Triple M were limited to denying knowledge of specific contracts and disputing some widely circulated figures. He reiterated that payment arrangements can vary depending on existing network relationships and contractual obligations, and that he was not in a position to confirm the sums reported by the Daily Mail.
Representatives for Channel 10, Daily Mail and Beau Ryan did not immediately provide further comment beyond what was broadcast and published.