Jordan's fat fee fury

They have not even touched down in the jungle yet.

But this year's band of I'm A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here! contestants are already furious with the programme's maker, Granada.

The problem is something very close to all of their hearts: Money.

In particular, the celebrities - who include Alex Best, disgraced aristocrat Lord Brocket, former BBC royal reporter Jennie Bond, ex-Sex Pistol John Lydon and comedian Frank Carson - are furious that Granada chiefs are planning to pay the glamour model Jordan more than four times as much as the rest of them.

Not for the first time in his career, the former England footballer Stan Collymore has already had enough and quit.

The programme is due to go on air in under two weeks. But the wrangling has meant that the producers have still not officially been able to announce the line-up.

Jordan has not yet signed, as discussions continue over how much the makers can pay her.

'The whole thing is a joke,' said one of the contestant's agents, who asked not to be named.

'They are supposed to be going in just over a week's time but quite a few of us are still threatening to leave unless they agree to pay everyone the same.

'They said from the start that everyone's contract was exactly the same. Now we have discovered that they have not been telling us the truth.'

Granada lawyer Matthew Angel is believed to have told all the agents that each contestant would have a 'favoured nations' deal, meaning all the contracts were the same.

Each is due to be paid a £25,000 flat fee, with Granada asking for a share of any money they make from glossy magazines on the back of the programme. However, the company's bosses have admitted that Jordan - real name Katie Price - will be paid more than the others.

Some estimates say she could be getting as much as £100,000 for the ten-day trip into the Australian jungle.

Jordan's agent, Dave Read, who is known as a tough negotiator, would only say: 'Jordan has still not signed her contract. I certainly can't confirm or deny that she is being paid more than other contestants.'

Another agent, who refused to be named, said: 'I can see that Jordan would be a bigger draw than some of the contestants but a deal is a deal - and they are playing dirty with us. This has left a really sour taste in my mouth.'

A group of the agents have sent a letter of complaint to Granada and are contemplating legal action.

'I want reassurance that they are keeping to their word,' said one. 'If they don't respond to the letter we have sent, then we will look at all our options.'

A spokesman for Granada refused to comment. ' We don't discuss artists' contracts,' she said.