'Noel has proved a revelation since the show started,' a source said. 'Yes, he is now being paid a lot of money but you only have to look at the ratings to see why.'
The years out of favour may not have left Edmonds too financially strapped - he still has an estimated £20million personal fortune - but the lucrative new Channel 4 contract comes at a good time for him.
Recently filed accounts show his company Unique Group, which is involved in everything from video conferencing to manufacturing coffee dispensers, has run up losses of £4.3million.
Edmonds's deal brings him in line with Paul O'Grady, who is paid £2 million a year to present his new teatime chatshow for Channel 4, while rival hosts Richard and Judy are on about £1million a year each.
Simon Cowell is ITV's highest paid star, earning about £1.5million a year as The X Factor's Mr Nasty, while Graham Norton has a £3.5million deal with the BBC but spread over a twoanda-half year contract.
Arguably, Edmonds is having to work harder for his money - Deal or No Deal is on six times a week, 52 weeks a year.
O'Grady also stands to earn millions more because his chatshow is being made by his own production company.
Deal or No Deal, in which 22 contestants compete for a top prize of £250,000, is made by Endemol, with Edmonds simply a hired hand. Nonetheless, the new deal provides the presenter with some security.
He had been working on a onemonth rolling contract - for an unknown fee - while Channel 4 waited to see how the show rated.
Edmonds started out in radio before revolutionising Saturday morning TV with the Multi-Coloured Swap Shop.
By the 1980s, he had graduated to prime time shows including The Late, Late Breakfast Show, Noel's House Party and Telly Addicts. He was the undisputed king of Saturday evening entertainment.
However viewers eventually tired of the relentlessly trivial antics on House Party which Edmonds happily admitted wasn't 'the most sophisticated form of entertainment'.
