Beau Ryan offered ‘ridiculous’ amount for TV show

Beau Ryan has revealed he was offered “more money than I’ve ever seen” to appear on an Australian reality TV show.

Beau Ryan has revealed he rejected a “ridiculous” amount of money to appear on a reality TV show.

The 39-year-old, who’s become one of Australia’s most in-demand media personalities since retiring from the NRL in 2014, has appeared on a plethora of TV programs including Dancing with the Stars, Top Gear Australia, Gladiators and The Amazing Race.

He also recently began co-hosting Triple M Sydney’s breakfast show alongside Natarsha Belling and Aaron Woods.

During an interview with news.com.au to promote his new radio show, Ryan opened up about his showbiz career and revealed he actually turned down his most lucrative offer.

“I got asked to do the first six (seasons) of I’m a Celeb,” Ryan said. “The money for the second season, it was more than I’ve ever seen.”

Beau with his Triple M co-hosts.

Beau at the Logies. Picture: Jonathan Ng

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Ryan told news.com.au the offer, which was worth more than $500,000, came at a time when Network 10 was keen to attract big names for the relatively unknown show.

“The money was big … because everyone didn’t know how the show was going to pan out,” he said. “Back then it was a lot more money and it was a ridiculous amount.”

Ryan told news.com.au he turned down the offer because he was contracted to Nine at the time.

Years later after jumping ship to Network Ten, Ryan agreed to appear on I’m a Celeb in 2022, albeit for far less money.

“I said (to Ten), ‘do you still have that offer from 2015 or 16?’ and they said, ‘no, we don’t,’” he laughed.

Ryan was in the jungle for two weeks, quitting the show with just a few days to go because he was “mentally cooked and physically drained”.

Nathan Buckley and Beau Ryan on I’m a Celeb in 2022. Picture: Nigel Wright

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Other TV offers

Ryan told news.com.au that he’s rejected a number of other TV offers over the years, including Celebrity Apprentice, The Masked Singer and SAS Australia.

“My kids love The Masked Singer … and were filthy when I said no to that,” Ryan laughed. “(But) I couldn’t do it because of timing and because I can’t sing.”

Radio career

It was announced late last year that Beau Ryan would co-host Triple M Sydney’s breakfast show in 2025.

Ryan and his co-hosts, Natarsha Belling and Aaron Woods, have only been on air for a few weeks but have already impressed industry insiders with their rapport.

“I’ve done chemistry testing for the last 20 years in TV and radio,” Ryan told news.com.au. “When you have chemistry testing that works, you know straight away … and that’s what happened when Tarsh, Woodsy and I got together.

“We shot a podcast at the back end of last year for two hours and it felt like five minutes,” he said.

Beau, Tarsh and Woodsy in their Triple M studio.

When asked why people should tune into the Triple M radio program, Ryan made it clear it’s a show made by locals, for locals.

“We all grew up in Sydney, the best city in the world … and we’re going to be out and about to show the best parts of Sydney.

“We’re not saving the world,” he added, “we’re just having fun, we’re making life light.”

But wait, there’s more

In his interview with news.com.au, Beau Ryan also spoke about skinny dipping with his footy mates, his awkward encounter with actress Melissa McCarthy, and why his relationship with Kyle Sandilands got off to a rocky start.

You can watch the chat in the video player at the top of this article.

Triple M Breakfast with Beau, Tarsh & Woodsy airs from 6-9am weekdays on 104.9 Triple M Sydney and LiSTNR

Originally published as Beau Ryan offered ‘ridiculous’ amount for TV show