Mrs Browns Boys actor Gary Hollywood has slammed bands who charge charities too much to play at their event - and says it's time for a rethink.
Gary is a patron of the Les Hoey MBE Dreammaker charity and gives his services for free to the cause which helps children with life threatening illnesses.
He regularly attends their events and is happy to speak at them whenever is required, but was recently left stunned at the "horrendous" prices some musicians charge for appearances.
Gary says many are charging as much as £20-25,000 for a mere half hour set - and that it is out of order.
He told The Daily Record : "It’s horrendous what some of the musicians charge to play a charity gig. Some of the bands can come up to twenty to twenty five thousands for a half hour set.
"I've been hearing whats going on. It happens with a lot of charities and it's got me so enraged."
Earlier today Gary put out a Tweet saying: "Ya know , I know we all have to make money but when it comes to bands (established) successful names do you really have to charge that much when it comes to charities @DreammakerLes these are kids that have life threatening illnesses or in some cases dying."
He told the Record : "As I said in my tweet, I know we all have to make money, but these established bands have plenty of money coming through the door for them. It would be nice if some did it for free but we are not even asking for that - just a reduced rate that is affordable."
Gary added: "When we were doing Mrs Browns Boys, we'd do a show and sign all the programmes. It didn’t matter whether it was raining or snowing.
"We'd be there till the last person's programme was signed as a thankyou for fans.
"It's something these bands should look at or their management in particular.
"The Dreammaker Ball is the charity's biggest fundraising night and, although they have an act now and it is sold out, it saddens me to think that these bands are not helping in a way that they could.
"Some of these kids are looking at death and it's time things changed."
A spokesperson for the Les Hoey MBE Dreammaker charity said: "People have their standard rates and they don’t give any leeway for charities. It’s something we’ve come to accept over the years. We appreciate Gary highlighting the issues that face small charities.”
You can find out more about the Dreammaker charity and help them here.
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