The 34-year-old star - who replaced troubled actor Charlie Sheen as a lead character in the TV series last year - will return for the tenth season of the comedy and sources have revealed to The Hollywood Reporter he will receive a pay rise of $25,000 an episode, meaning he will earn $725,000 for each instalment.

Ashton - who split from wife Demi Moore last year - previously revealed he was keen to return for another series because he enjoyed doing it so much.

The actor - who appears in the show with Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones - said: "I'm having a lot of fun doing the show, working with these guys and would be interested in coming back.

"The deal that we structured for the show is kind of a test deal, 'Can we get the show up? Can we get it going?'

"The show is outperforming the numbers from before I was here, and so I think people are responding to it, and, for me having a show that people like and people want more of, that'll dictate my decision."

The first episode of 'Two and a Half Men' in which Ashton appeared set a ratings record for the show, drawing in some 27.7 million viewers -  more than double the number who watched the first episode of season eight in 2010.