After a seemingly interminable wait, Matt Hancock will make his first appearance on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here on Wednesday evening! jungle. Professional hunks Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly will welcome the former health secretary, 44, into the jungle alongside comedian Seann Walsh. It comes after Love Island star Olivia Attwood pulled out of the show on Monday due to medical reasons. Now the time has come for his big debut, how will Hancock cope? He is a man, according to Westminster sources, who likes to project a self-deprecating image. As culture secretary he had the pick of the government’s art collection and chose a painting of a cockerel – a conscious nod to the mockery his name often provoked. But behind the scenes she is said to be famously thin-skinned. With pop icon Boy George already accusing Loose Women’s Charlene White of being bossy and ‘controlling’, how will Hancock react if George’s sharp tongue turns in a new direction? Criticism, at least, will not be unfamiliar to the former minister, who has faced disparaging comments from his constituents (one of whom simply said “the man is an idiot”), the prime minister, former contestants, comedians, their families. who lost loved ones during the pandemic, Miriam Margolyes, fellow MPs, countless political commentators and a significant majority of people with a social media account. Hancock’s decision to star in the series also saw him lose the Tory whip. However, while he admits that “some people will think I’ve lost my marbles”, he insisted he wanted to do the show to show his “human side” and use reality TV as a platform to “deliver important messages to the masses”. Along with other celebrities taking part in this year’s series – Culture Club star Boy George, TV presenter Scarlette Douglas, Lioness Jill Scott, Coronation Street actress Sue Cleaver, Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner, rugby star Mike Tindall, comedian Babatunde Aleshe and broadcaster Charlene White – Hanco will have to live in extreme conditions. He will have to take part in ‘bushtucker trials’ – which in previous years have seen ex-glamour model Katie Price swallow a kangaroo anus, while actor Jorgie Porter has chewed on a crocodile penis – to get extra food for the team and avoids are voted on by viewers during their stay. If Hancock makes it to the final episode, he has a chance to win. Some have suggested that this is unlikely. The king is a celebrity… Get me out of here! The champion, actor Danny Miller, has suggested that Hancock is likely to be used as a “toy” by the public, who would like to impose punishments in retaliation for his handling of the Covid pandemic in the UK, before he is sent off. Get our weekly pop culture email delivered free to your inbox every Friday Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. But ex-MP and former I’m a Celebrity… contestant Lembit Öpik said that, after the kissing scandal that led to his resignation as health secretary, Hancock had nothing to lose and could be “nominated for the life” financially after its appearance. The former Lib Dem MP – who considers Hancock a personal friend – added: “He starts from such a low base in the public that the only way is up.”
