Celebrity Big Brother signs Kate Middleton's uncle Gary Goldsmith as insiders say show's 'most controversial' recruitment could be 'TV gold'

The merry bosses of Big Brother (CBB) are said to have recruited the Princess of Wales's uncle Gary Goldsmith as a contestant on the next series of the reality show.

The outspoken businessman, 58, is said to have struck a meaty deal with bosses for the celebrity edition of the series to return after a six-year absence.

Mr Goldsmith, the brother of Kate Middleton's mother Carole, is said to have signed the contract for his appearance this week after reportedly trying to gain entry to I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! in 2023.

Show insiders say producers are happy to have secured him as a contestant because of his ties to the royal family – and his tendency to speak his mind, especially about Kate's brother-in-law, Prince Harry.

CBB, which is expected to air in March, will reportedly also line up contestants such as Dragons' Den entrepreneur Levi Roots and music manager Louis Walsh.

Mr Goldsmith is the brother of the Princess of Wales's mother Carole and is known for his outspoken comments

Celebrity Big Brother returns this year after a six-year absence from our screens

ITV took control of Big Brother after a stint at Channel 5, which axed the program in 2018 after being taken from Channel 4, which itself scrapped the format in 2010.

Sources at the program said The sun from Mr Goldsmith: 'Gary is doing everything he can to appear on Celebrity Big Brother. He finalized the terms of his deal today and can't wait to move into the house.”

ITV bosses have reportedly been keeping an eye on Mr Goldsmith – who wrote for the Mail a year ago and branded Harry's autobiography Spare as 'prickly, egotistical…fluff' – since his I'm A Celeb audition.

That ended in failure, reportedly because bosses were concerned about his potential to embarrass the royal family, but CBB chiefs believe his brusque, shoot-from-the-hip style of straight-talking fits the format of the most infamous TV house.

The source added: 'The CBB team love him for his link with Kate and the fact that he is confident, loud and won't hold back.

“He has made it clear that he will talk about anything and everything, and he is quite outspoken when it comes to Harry and Meghan. He could be TV gold and ITV knows it. The deal he signed is for good money.”

Mr Goldsmith was a guest at William and Kate's wedding in 2011; He made his money building an IT recruitment company but has been embroiled in scandals including the drug photo in Ibiza.

He has since attacked what he sees as insults to his family, including his niece and William, including episodes of The Crown, royal biographer Omid Scobie's book Endgame and Harry's memoir Spare.

At the end of 2023, he struck at Endgame, which claimed in the Dutch edition that the Princess of Wales was one of the “royal racists” who were concerned about the skin color of Harry and Meghan's son Archie.

Writing for the Mail in December, he said of Scobie: 'His book made me feel sick. I had to put it down many times because the content made me so angry and I couldn't even finish it.

'And now we're even told that Kate has been 'accidentally' named as the alleged royal racist, along with her father-in-law, King Charles.

“It's completely ridiculous to think that Kate is a racist.”

A CBB spokesperson told the Sun: “All names are purely speculation at this stage.”