[Arneldo]

Tommy Sheridan has turned down a £100,000 offer to appear on the next series of Celebrity Big Brother.

The Scottish politician confirmed that he had been offered a "six-figure sum" but decided not to enter the house because producers could not guarantee that they would air his political views.

"I'm definitely not doing Celebrity Big Brother," Sheridan told the Daily Record. "They made a very generous offer but there were no guarantees of communicating my political ideas. Therefore, it was not right at this time.

"At first, I ruled it out completely. But they kept coming back upping the offer. People were saying to me, 'Don't rule it out, think about it'. This is not a decision on principle but, on balance, it's not right now."

Celebrity Big Brother returns on January 3.

DS