Geldof owns a third of Castaway Television, the "rm that owns the show's format, along with British businessmen Lord Waheed Alli and Charles Parsons.

The payment came in the form of a dividend to the three men.

Since its launch in May 2000, Survivor has proven to be a lucrative venture for Geldof, whose stake in Castaway Television is valued at around Euro30m.

Geldof and Parsons devised the format for the show at their previous company, Planet 24, but retained the rights after they sold it in 1999 in a deal that netted Geldof around �5m.

The accounts also reveal that pre-tax pro"ts at the "rm rose by almost �400,000 (Euro595,000) to �3.48m (Euro5.17m) despite an increase in administrative expenses. The "rm's turnover for the year stood at �6.8m (Euro10.1m), up from �6.1m (Euro9.1m) the previous year.

Survivor, which was the "rst highlyrated and pro"table reality TV show on US television, now airs in over 35 different countries with more than 25 different local versions. The original US version of the show is now in its 14th season.

Since the show was launched, Castaway Television has unsuccessfully tried to sue a number of competing companies for copying the format, most notably Big Brother producer Endemol and the producers of ITV's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.