BBC Strictly winner Harry Judd had nearly half his earnings taken away in major blow

While winners of typically bag £100k for their performances, fans might be surprised to learn that nearly half of McFly star Harry Judd’s paycheck was lost to taxes when he won back in 2011.

Each year, celebrities and professional dancers spend countless hours rehearsing to impress the eagle-eyed judges. Competing for the iconic Glitterball trophy not only brings fame but also a financial incentive that increases with each round they advance.

However, the enviable pay check often shrinks significantly due to the UK’s tax system.

In the UK, once earnings exceed £100,000, the tax-free Personal Allowance begins to decrease. For every £2 earned over £100,000, £1 of the allowance is lost.

Once someone’s earnings hit £125,140, the allowance is completely phased out, resulting in an effective tax rate of 60 percent on income within this range. This steep taxation left Judd with much less than the six-figure sum many assume he received.

Despite the tax hit, winning the dance show in 2011 opened many doors for Judd, leading to appearances on Celebrity Juice, The Million Pound Drop Live, Celebrity The Chase, and Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel.

He’s also been a continual target for producers and recently secured a second-place finish in Celebrity Race Across The World.

Harry further boosted his earnings with a 2015 Christmas performance on Strictly, but his most lucrative ventures have been with McFly, especially during their joint tours with Busted, forming the supergroup McBusted.

Today, Harry Judd’s net worth is estimated at £1.5 million, and with 643,000 followers on , he can earn nearly £6,000 per sponsored post.

Likewise, Harry’s McFly bandmate Danny Jones may have walked away as the King of the Jungle on I’m A Celebrity, but it seems the taxman also took a big bite out of his prize earnings.

Reports from The Independent suggest that Danny earned between £150,000 and £200,000 for his stint in the jungle.

However, while the paycheck may seem generous, Jones is likely to see less than half of it in his bank account after taxes.

Australian tax laws stipulate that up to 47 percent of earnings can be taken from non-residents who earn income within the country—a reality that has caught out many previous I’m A Celeb contestants.

Former contestant Michael Buerk, who appeared on the show in 2014, revealed his shock at how much the Australian government deducted from his six-figure fee.

Speaking about the financial hit to the Daily Star, he said: “The Australian taxman takes nearly 50 percent of it straight off the top, which takes some of the cream off.”

This deduction is standard for international stars who agree to film in Australia, though some may find it a surprise. In Danny’s case, his estimated £150,000 fee could drop to £80,000 or less after tax.