I'm A Celeb: Matt Hancock grilled on pandemic by campmates
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Former Health Secretary and current independent MP Matt Hancock’s appearance on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here has got off to a challenging start after he was voted to take part in six consecutive bushtucker trials in order to win meals for camp. His presence has divided opinion up and down the country. But what do you think? Are ITV is wrong to give him a platform? Vote in our poll.
As a sitting MP, his decision to appear on the reality show was criticised by many, and his Conservative Party whip was removed. As a result, the West Suffolk MP is now classed as an independent as his time on the show overlaps with the House of Commons sittings.
Mr Hancock resigned as Health Secretary last year after failing to follow his own COVID-19 regulations and guidance by having an affair with his aide Gina Coladangelo. Do you think it is wrong for him to be given a platform on the ITV show? Vote in our poll.
Actress Miriam Margolyes has criticised ITV’s decision to cast him in the current series of I’m a Celebrity, asking “why he was thought a proper person to entertain”.
In an interview with The Six O’Clock Show in Ireland, Ms Margolyes said: “What an appalling, adulterous creep. Why we have him on our televisions I don’t know.” She added: “I don’t know why he was thought a proper person to entertain. He’s a vile human being. He nearly destroyed our national health service. He sent loads of people with Covid, old ladies, back into their care homes. I think he’s a detestable, vile, puny individual.”
In response to her comments, a spokesperson for Mr Hancock told The Independent: “By going on the show, Matt hopes to raise the profile of his dyslexia campaign and will use the platform to talk about an issue he really cares about in front of millions of people. Matt is determined that no child should leave primary school not knowing if they have dyslexia.”
Former winner of I’m A Celebrity Georgia Toffolo previously claimed that it was “disgraceful” for Mr Hancock to abandon his constituents to appear on the reality show. Speaking on This Morning, on Monday, November 14, she said that her views had changed, telling hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield that she thinks he is doing “quite well” so far and has a softer opinion of him after showing viewers his “human” side.
However, the campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice slammed Mr Hancock’s decision as “sickening”, with the group calling for ITV to remove him from the show. The group tweeted: “Matt Hancock isn’t a ‘celebrity’, he’s the former health secretary who oversaw the UK having one of the highest death tolls in the world from Covid-19 whilst breaking his own lockdown rules.”
So what do YOU think? Do you think ITV is wrong to give Matt Hancock a platform after Covid failings? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Have you got a more positive opinion of the former Health Secretary after his I’m A Celeb performance?
Speaking to his campmates in the Australian jungle, Mr Hancock said he is looking for “forgiveness” for his actions during the coronavirus pandemic.
He told ITV news anchor and Loose Women presenter Charlene White on Thursday’s episode, November 10: “Do you know what it is actually, what I’m really looking for is a bit of forgiveness, that’s what I’m really looking for. We all make mistakes. I made a pretty big one.”
He also acknowledged there was “no excuse” for his actions, telling comedian Babatunde Aleshe: “It was really tough. I messed up and I fessed up. I resigned and it’s no excuse but I fell in love, right? That also had a lot of other consequences, obviously.”
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Mr Hancock was voted to take part in six consecutive trials but has been relieved of the duty to win meals for camp for the last two challenges.
As the series enters its third week, celebrities will be vying to be saved by the public each night as eliminations begin to filter down the stars to find the King or Queen of the jungle.
Some of the latest odds suggest Mr Hancock is edging closer to becoming the favourite to win the series. According to bookmaker BoyleSports his odds have improved from 33/1 to 6/1 to win, putting him in third position behind England footballer Jill Scott (5/4) and rugby star Mike Tindall (11/4).
Spokesperson for BoyleSports, Lawrence Lyons, said: “I’m A Celebrity viewers are gearing up for the first eviction and the betting this week suggests it really could go either way for Matt Hancock. Plenty are backing him to be sent home right away, but he’s also now third favourite to win as his odds have sunk into 6/1 from 33/1 since entering the camp, so we’ll be glued to our screens to see which section has called it right.”
So what do YOU think? Have you got a more positive opinion of Mr Hancock after his I’m A Celeb performance? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
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