A judge has ordered an urgent hearing of a High Court plea by former Culture Club singer Boy George to be allowed to enter the Celebrity Big Brother (CBB) house this January.
The singer - real name George O'Dowd - was convicted of assault and falsely imprisoning a rent boy earlier this year.
He was freed early and is tagged and on curfew.
Unless the conditions of his release on licence are altered, the singer, aged 48, will not be able to take part in CBB.
Newspaper reports say he has already agreed a £200,000 fee to take part in the show.
Probation Service officials are objecting to the conditions being changed and say the case raises issues of important legal principle.
The case was due to start today at London's High Court but had to be put off because Hugh Tomlinson QC, who is to represent the singer and has been abroad, had his flight home delayed.
Alison Macdonald, standing in for Mr Tomlinson, said the case was urgent as CBB started on January 3 and it needed to be resolved "by Wednesday at the latest".
Mr Justice Bean said he had been looking into the issues it raised and a hearing should be held before him at 11am on Tuesday.
Probation Service lawyers will argue that allowing George to take part in CBB and promote his status as a celebrity and earn "a lucrative sum of money" could undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system.
