Matt Hancock’s girlfriend Gina Coladangelo has said that the former Health Secretary “underestimated” the public’s reaction to him appearing on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, she revealed in the follow-up show.
Hancock, who is currently MP for West Suffolk, resigned from his cabinet position in 2021 after a leaked video showed him breaking social distancing guidelines by kissing Coladangelo, then his aide, while both were married to other people.
The news that the politician would appear on the ITV show sparked controversy, prompting criticism from the COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign and leading to Hancock losing the whip and being suspended from the Tory party “with immediate effect”.
He arrived in the jungle several days after the rest of the celebrity campmates, entering the show alongside comedian Seann Walsh.
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Hancock ended up competing in numerous stomach-churning Bushtucker Trials and eventually made it to the finale, coming in third place behind Hollyoaks star Owen Warner and new Queen of the Jungle Jill Scott.
“I think it’s fair to say that Matt underestimated the scale of the reaction to him coming into the jungle,” Coladangelo said during I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! The Coming Out Show, which will air on ITV tomorrow.
She revealed that her final piece of advice to her partner before he left for the show was to “just be yourself, be the Matt I know and it’ll go really well”, although she also admitted that she “thought Matt was leaving the jungle everyday”, so she was “pleasantly surprised he’s made it this far”.
In scenes showing Hancock and Coladangelo travelling back from the camp to the show’s production hub, the politician asked his girlfriend whether he was “authentically me” during his time on TV.
“It took a few days, I felt, for you to relax,” she responded, prompting him to recall his experience of being “grilled” by fellow campmates in his “early days” in the jungle.
“When I was being grilled in the early days, I felt like people were asking me on behalf of the British public,” he said. “I knew going in it would be controversial but I also know millions of people have voted for me.”
After the finale, ITV revealed that Hancock received 21.72 per cent of the vote, compared to Warner’s 30.99 per cent share and eventual champion Scott’s 47.29 per cent share.
I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! The Coming Out Show is on ITV on December 1st at 9.15pm on ITV1 and ITV Hub. Find something to watch with our TV Guide or Streaming Guide, or visit our Entertainment hub for all the latest news.
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