Celebs paid up to £2,458 a minute to natter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) March 12, 2009 -- New research out today from Tesco Mobile reveals the incredible earning power of TV celebrities who get paid to talk, with some earning as much as £2,458 per minute.

The research ties in with the launch of Tesco Mobile’s Pay-As-You-Go tariff. While Tesco Mobile can’t offer customers £2,458 a minute, they can triple their credit – proving that celebs are not the only ones to benefit from talking more.

At the top of the list of celebrities reaping high rewards for their natter, was London hypnotist Paul McKenna, who values his talk time at a huge £2,458 per minute – substantially more than any of his counterparts.

Other TV presenters raking in the pounds include X-Factor star Simon Cowell who charges up to £224.30 every minute he roasts another aspiring performer, and the nation’s favourite Cheshire lass, Strictly Come Dancing presenter, Tess Daly, who earns a respectable £133 each minute.

Not to be outdone by her English rivals, Welsh warbler Charlotte Church proves that she’s a mum that can still bring in the big bucks at a competitive £48.10 per minute – that’s £2,886 an hour.

The most expensive British celebrity talkers are:

1. Paul McKenna (£2,458.00 per minute)
2. Simon Cowell (£224.30 per minute)
3. Tess Daly (£133.00 per minute)
4. Sir Trevor McDonald (£100.00 per minute)
5. Charlotte Church (£48.10 per minute)
6. Fern Britton (£22.50 per minute)
7/8 Tony Blair (£16.00 per minute)
7/8 Sir Alex Ferguson (£16.00 per minute)
9. Chris Moyles (£11.50 per minute)
10. Kirsty Gallacher (£6.60 per minute)

TV presenters are unrivalled as the highest earning celebrities in the UK. But the talk-time rates vary broadly - men earn more than women and Paul McKenna who commands the highest talk-time fee per minute charges more than ten times the rate of Simon Cowell, the second most expensive celebrity talker.

As part of the research Tesco Mobile also examined how much those who talk for a living earn for a minute of conversation. Voice over artists trumped even politicians, lawyers and doctors at £1.67 each minute for their talk-time. Life coaches are in second place earning a very decent £1.25 per minute, followed by non-celebrity DJs.

At the bottom of the professionals list are priests, charging only 5p per minute for talk-time – making for some very cheap sermons.

Tesco Mobile’s pay as you go tariff gives customers free credit when they top up to spend how they like on calls, texts and browsing. For example, customers topping up by £15 will get £30 extra credit for free.

Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Mobile and Tesco Telecoms commented:

“As our research shows, talk isn’t always cheap and that is why we’re pleased to be able to reward our customers with triple credit for the chatting they do.”

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More information on Tesco Mobile’s triple your credit tariff can be found at: www.tescomobile.com

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