EXCLUSIVE: Salary shocks! How much the Dancing With The Stars cast REALLY get paid

As Dancing With The Stars' blockbuster finale draws closer, it's clear this season's celebrity dancers are not messing around!

And while they're putting their bodies on the line for the ultimate cha-cha, Woman's Day hears there's no shortage of bruised egos behind the scenes – and it's all to do with money.

"Their salaries have been slashed this year – budgets are down, down, down," quips a production insider.

"The producers have worked hard to convince the cast they're all on roughly the same pay, but the truth is half the cast are on low salaries and the rest… peanuts!" the source explains.

"Going on reality TV is no longer frowned upon – it's a career booster and it plays straight in to Ten's cost-cutting game," explains the insider, who says the network is obsessed with appealing to millennials.

"Why else do you think someone as acclaimed as Claudia [Karvan] is getting paid so low? They've told her it's the perfect way to reinvent herself with a younger audience."

Adds the source, "It's played in some people's favour… look at Angie [Kent]! She's throwing her weight around the network and convinced them to pay her one of the highest salaries."

Interestingly, it's believed Ten heavyweight presenters Beau Ryan and Ed Kavalee have had to have their appearance fees on the show waived as they're on "monster retainers".

The pair are said to earn "$150,000-plus" to be available to the network – that "never discloses the salaries of its talent".

Meanwhile, rumours are rife Olivia Newton-John called in some favours to secure daughter Chloe's gig – and her big salary!

Ten denied all the claims when approached for comment.