Chris Hughes has rejected claims that he was dropped by ITV Racing after demanding higher pay to present the Cheltenham Festival. The former reality star took to social media to clarify the circumstances of his departure, which had been widely reported as a dispute over wages.
Hughes, who finished sixth on Celebrity Big Brother in 2024, stopped working for ITV Racing shortly after his stint on the show. In April 2025, racing commentator Neil Watson criticised ITV for parting ways with Hughes, alleging that Hughes had asked for a pay rise. Watson tweeted: 'Never heard of Goalkeeper Barry or Carl Freezer but this shows ITV made a real horlicks by getting rid of Chris Hughes, because he quite rightly wanted a bit more in wages.'
Responding to Watson's tweet, Hughes wrote: 'Just FYI, press reports were not true around this. I never once asked for more money. I was simply told they were cost cutting across sport, euros were coming up etc, and I was one of them that was removed to cost cut. I even offered to work for free at one of the festivals.'
Watson quickly apologised, tweeting: 'My apologies for saying anything which wasn't true about that Chris. Hope nothing I said caused offence or embarrassment.' Hughes accepted the apology, saying: 'No course not mate, it was in the press so you’re entitled to believe what you want, I’ve just never spoken about it before as I don’t react to things they write.'
Hughes also left his role at BBC Sport in August 2025, after four years as the face of their Hundred cricket coverage. A BBC source told the Sun: 'Chris has done a good job for four years, but we're going in a different direction.' Express Sport has contacted ITV for comment.
