Singer Boy George has lost a legal bid to change the terms of his probation so he can appear on Celebrity Big Brother.
The DJ and former Culture Club star served time in jail for handcuffing a male escort to a wall and beating him with a metal chain.
He wanted the terms of his probation order changed so he could take part in the new series of CBB starting on January 3.
Newspaper reports suggest he had already agreed a £200,000 fee for appearing on the the hit Channel 4 programme.
The 48 year old - real name George O'Dowd - was said by his lawyer Louis Charalambous to be "very disappointed" by the court's decision.
"He says life goes on and will consider his options after talking to his legal advisers," Mr Charalamous said after the hearing, which Boy George did not attend.
In his view, he added, the result amounted to discrimination because if his client had been a plumber, he would have been allowed to work.