Celebrity Big Brother UK star and Australian-born photographer Darryn Lyons is set to put his risqué collection of art up for sale later this month.
The 58-year-old former paparazzi who now lives in Italy announced he was flogging off his prized bounty after confessing he had no plans to return Down Under.
The coming auction will see 246 items, worth thousands of dollars, go under the hammer including a glamorous ‘throne’ which once had the eye of a famed pop star.
‘[The throne] was part of a pair and Michael Jackson had bought the other one,’ Lyons told the Herald Sun on Saturday.
‘Still to this day I can’t work out why he bought one and not the pair.’
Lyons said he bought the elaborately decked out show piece, dubbed the ‘Bling King Throne, in the 1990s when he was based in London. It is now valued at $4,000.
‘I am decluttering in a massive way in terms of assets, I am simplifying my life,’ he said of his decision to sell off his collection.
Other items up for grabs in Lyons collection include a racy poster of 60s pinup Raquel Welch seen ‘nailed’ to a crucifix and wearing only skimpy bikini.
Celebrity Big Brother UK star and Australian-born photographer Darryn Lyons (pictured) is set to put his risqué collection of art up for sale later this month
There’s also a large collection of erotic art including a famed nude Playboy ‘playmate’ photo of 50’s superstar Marilyn Monroe worth $1200.
The former Geelong mayor, who has been acquiring art works his whole life, said he was selling off his prized collection so others could he ‘enjoy’ the works.
Elsewhere in the chat he revealed that he was currently enjoying time travelling and that his life had changed since both of his parents have passed away.
He left his Queensland home in June and said he has no plans to come back to Australia.
The coming auction will see 246 items, worth thousands of dollars, go under the hammer including a glamorous ‘throne’ which once had the eye of a famed pop star Michael Jackson. It was part of a pair and Michael Jackson had bought the other one Lyons told the Herald Sun on Saturday. Pictured: The throne which is currently valued at $4,000
Another of Lyons art works dubbed ‘Mr. Papparazzi’ which is worth $400
It comes after Lyons leased out his amazing Sydney apartment for a whopping $3500-per-week in July.
Located in fashionable Darlinghurst, the two-bedroom, two-bathroom high-rise apartment comes fully furnished.
Situated in the famed Horizon building, the pad features an eye-popping pink colour scheme, risqué artwork and lavish fittings.
Lyons bought the luxury flat off the plan in 1998 for $604,000, reported The Wentworth Courier.
According to the publication, Lyons, who was mayor of Geelong from 2013-2016, is currently enjoying a sojourn in upscale St. Tropez on the French Riviera and has rented out the apartment at least three times since 2010.
The last time the flat was on the market was in 2022 for $1150.
Lyons, who is known for his eccentric style, has fashioned his Sydney pad with a number of stunning features including a standalone see-through Perspex pink tub.
One featured artwork features a nude, tattooed model wearing a wimple.
Another matching portrait hung nearby shows the same model in a similar pose fully clothed in a nun’s habit.
Lyons has been reported to having earned millions of dollars selling images of the late Princess Diana.
Princess Diana suffered fatal injuries and died along with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and her driver and security guard Henri Paul on August 31, 1997.
Lyons has appeared on Celebrity Big Brother U.K. in 2011 (pictured)
An inquest, which Lyons gave evidence in, was held in London and ended in 2008.
It found Princess Diana died unlawfully, blaming negligent driving by Henri Paul affected by paparazzi, which contributed to the crash.
Darryn’s photographer in Paris, Laurent Sola, took photos of the late princess dead in her car, which he still owns.
However the one time reality star said he has not sold the photos and never will despite once being offered a quarter of a million pounds ($444K AUD) by British and American news publications.
Lyons has appeared on Celebrity Big Brother U.K. and Top Gear U.K. in 2011.
Lyons left Australia in June and says now he is travelling and ‘decluttering his life’
