{"id":25218,"date":"2022-11-04T14:43:38","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T13:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1733112"},"modified":"2022-11-04T15:14:13","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T14:14:13","slug":"meet-matt-hancock-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant-and-former-health-secretary","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/meet-matt-hancock-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant-and-former-health-secretary\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Matt Hancock: I\u2019m a Celebrity 2022 contestant and former Health Secretary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"><\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Rianne Ison\n                \t\t<\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Friday, 04 November 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><div class=\"&quot;editor-content\" mb-lg=\"\" hidden-print=\"\" js-piano-preview-content=\"\" data-placement=\"&quot;Body&quot;\">\n<p>In perhaps one of the biggest and most surprising <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/entertainment\/im-celebrity-2022-start-date\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">I\u2019m a Celebrity<\/a> contestant announcements to date, it emerged that former Health Secretary <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/entertainment\/matt-hancock-im-a-celebrity-suspended-newsupdate\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Matt Hancock had signed up to this year\u2019s show<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"&quot;editor-content\" mb-lg=\"\" hidden-print=\"\" js-piano-preview-content=\"\" data-placement=\"&quot;Body&quot;\">\n<p>Hancock, who has hit the headlines numerous times over his political career, has landed in Australia ready to enter camp as a late \u2018bombshell\u2019 style arrival.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019ll be joining the likes of newsreader <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/entertainment\/charlene-white-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Charlene White<\/a>, rugby ace and royal family member <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/entertainment\/reality-tv\/mike-tindall-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Mike Tindall<\/a> and football legend <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/entertainment\/reality-tv\/jill-scott-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Jill Scott<\/a>,\u00a0who have all been confirmed to be starring in the <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/entertainment\/reality-tv\/im-a-celebrity-2022-line-up\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">I\u2019m a Celebrity 2022 line-up<\/a>, with the show now in its 22nd season.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s everything you need to know about Matt Hancock ahead of his jungle debut \u2013 and why his appearance on the reality show has been ruffling feathers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"&quot;who-is-boy-george-86c4fb53&quot;\"><strong>Who is Matt Hancock?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--full=\"\" style=\"&quot;padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=300%2C200,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=300%2C200,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=355%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=355%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=405%2C270,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=405%2C270,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=408%2C272,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=408%2C272,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=556%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=556%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><img data-crop-width=\"&quot;5456&quot;\" data-crop-height=\"&quot;3634&quot;\" class=\"&quot;wp-image-1731098\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--full=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-1244009470-f6ffbf7.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=27px%2C39px%2C5456px%2C3634px&amp;resize=620%2C413&quot;\" width=\"&quot;620&quot;\" height=\"&quot;413&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;&quot;\" title=\"&quot;&quot;\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" icon-camera-circle=\"\"\/> Matt Hancock, former Health Secretary.<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\"> <i>Hollie Adams\/Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<p><strong>Age: <\/strong>44<\/p>\n<p><strong>Job:\u00a0<\/strong>Politician<\/p>\n<p><strong>Twitter: <\/strong><a href=\"\/\/twitter.com\/MattHancock?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">@MattHancock<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Instagram:<\/strong> <a href=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/matthancockmp&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">@matthancockmp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>You would have been living under a rock if you hadn\u2019t heard of Matt Hancock \u2013 and not always for positive reasons.<\/p>\n<p>The controversial I\u2019m a Celebrity contestant has been a serving member of the Conservative party since 2010.<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, Hancock was appointed Health Secretary by Theresa May, a position he held until 2021.<\/p>\n<p>But it was in the pandemic that Hancock became a firm fixture on our TV screens, advising the public on social distancing and other COVID regulations.<\/p>\n<p>However, Hancock came under fire in June 2021 when it emerged that he had been violating his own social distancing guidelines while engaging in an affair with his aide Gina Coladangelo. Hancock then split from his wife of 15 years, Martha Hoyer Millar.<\/p>\n<p>Hancock has since hit the headlines again after it emerged he would be entering the I\u2019m a Celebrity jungle this year.<\/p>\n<p>Following the news, Hancock lost the Conservative Party whip, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken out against his decision.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for Sunak said, \u201cThe PM believes that at a challenging time for the country, MPs should be working hard for their constituents in the House or in their constituencies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe public, when they elect their MPs, expect them to work hard for their constituency.\u201d<\/p> <h2 id=\"&quot;what-has-boy-george-said-about-joining-im-a-celebrity-6ea6b26e&quot;\"><strong>What has Matt Hancock said about joining I\u2019m a Celebrity?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>After the news broke that Matt would be heading into the Aussie jungle as a late arrival, he broke his silence on his decision to sign up to the reality show and slammed his critics.<\/p>\n<p>Matt said that it had nothing to do with the pay cheque and that instead, he wanted to use his time on screen to connect with voters.<\/p>\n<p>In a column for The Sun, he wrote: \u201cWhile there will undoubtedly be those who think I shouldn\u2019t go, I think it\u2019s a great opportunity to talk directly to people who aren\u2019t always interested in politics, even if they care very much about how our country\u2019s run.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s our job as politicians to go to where the people are \u2014 not to sit in ivory towers in Westminster.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matt also said that he thought I\u2019m a Celebrity would give him a great platform to discuss something else very close to his heart \u2013 dyslexia.<\/p>\n<p>In the same column, he opened up about his own diagnosis aged 18 and how he\u2019s been working tirelessly to raise more awareness ever since.<\/p>\n<p>He continued: \u201cI want to raise the \u00adprofile of my dyslexia campaign to help every dyslexic child unleash their potential \u2014 even if it means taking an unusual route to get there\u2009\u2026\u2009via the Australian jungle! I\u2019m a Celebrity\u2009\u2026\u2009 is watched by millions of Brits up and down the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>I\u2019m a Celebrity\u2026 Get Me Out of Here! starts on ITV on Sunday 6th November at 9pm. Find something to watch with our <\/b><a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\"><b>TV Guide<\/b><\/a><b> <strong>or<\/strong><span class=\"&quot;apple-converted-space&quot;\">\u00a0<\/span><strong><a title=\"&quot;https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/&quot;\" href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Streaming Guide<\/a><\/strong>, or visit our <\/b><a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/entertainment\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\"><b>Entertainment<\/b><\/a><b> hub for all the latest news.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013 <\/b><a href=\"\/\/radiotimes.com\/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\"><b>subscribe now<\/b><\/a><b> and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the <\/b><a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\"><b>Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast<\/b><\/a><b>.<\/b><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Rianne Ison Published: Friday, 04 November 2022 at 12:00 am In perhaps one of the biggest and most surprising I\u2019m a Celebrity contestant announcements to date, it emerged that former Health Secretary Matt Hancock had signed up to this year\u2019s show. Hancock, who has hit the headlines numerous times over his political career, has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25219,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/11\/meet-matt-hancock-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant-and-former-health-secretary.jpg",1920,1280,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/11\/meet-matt-hancock-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant-and-former-health-secretary-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/11\/meet-matt-hancock-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant-and-former-health-secretary-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/11\/meet-matt-hancock-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant-and-former-health-secretary-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/11\/meet-matt-hancock-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant-and-former-health-secretary-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/11\/meet-matt-hancock-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant-and-former-health-secretary-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/11\/meet-matt-hancock-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant-and-former-health-secretary.jpg",1920,1280,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Rianne Ison Published: Friday, 04 November 2022 at 12:00 am In perhaps one of the biggest and most surprising I\u2019m a Celebrity contestant announcements to date, it emerged that former Health Secretary Matt Hancock had signed up to this year\u2019s show. Hancock, who has hit the headlines numerous times over his political career, has&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/25218"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}