Boy George claimed he was too rich to ever appear on I’m a Celebrity

It appears that receiving the biggest pay cheque in the show’s 20-year history has led to Boy George backtracking on his vow to never star on I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

The singer is set to be a contestant on the show and is reportedly being paid £500,000 after boasting just six months ago that he has a big enough bank balance to never have to appear.

A resurfaced clip from April shows the Eighties icon dissing the show during an appearance on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and telling the ITV pair not to expect him in the jungle any time soon.

After performing his hit 1983 track Karma Chameleon with Culture Club, the 61-year-old singer was asked by the presenting duo — who also host I’m a Celeb — what the song’s title meant.

He sassily replied: "It means I’ll never have to say I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!"

However, on Saturday the star landed in Brisbane — wearing a lion mask — to appear on the ITV show, which has returned to Australia after two years in Wales.

He joked: “I’m here to do a version of The Lion Queen, I don’t know what you are talking about, darling!”

"It’s been a long time since we had a huge global star film the show and he will no doubt draw viewers," a source told MailOnline.

"He’s a national treasure and we have no doubt viewers will make him King of the Jungle."

The singer, whose full name is George Alan O’Dowd, will be joined on I’m A Celeb by the likes of Corrie legend Sue Cleaver, 59, Lioness Jill Scott, 35, and Mike Tindall, 44, the ex-rugby star and husband of royal family member Zara Phillips.

DJ Chris Moyles and ITV News host Charlene White, Love Island star Olivia Attwood and Hollyoaks’ Owen Warner also join the line-up.