Former talkshow host Jay Leno has collaborated on a new memoir which reveals the strange off-screen behaviour of many celebrities.

The book, written by Dave Berg, a producer on The Tonight Show for 22 years, details the demands of stars like Jessica Simpson, Teri Hatcher and Eddie Murphy.

‘Behind the Curtain: An Insider’s View of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show’ has received the seal of approval from Leno himself, with the host writing the book’s foreword.

According to the book, actress Jessica Simpson would only appear on the show if they paid for her hair and makeup, a cost she estimated at $18,000.

Berg also writes that singer Paula Abdul would often arrive drunk and barely able to stand up, and that his job was to make her “coherent enough to appear”.

Teri Hatcher would often abuse producers on the phone for not having better ideas, and Eddie Murphy had an entire page of necessities for his dressing room before he went on stage.

To help with stage fright, Leno came up with the idea of a backstage bar called The Jay Bar to help guest with their nerves, but stars like Quentin Tarantino hit the bar so hard he was “occasionally incoherent” on air.

The show also paid $35,000 for a private jet to fly politician Sarah Palin from Alaska to New York for an appearance, according to a report by the New York Post.