Matt Hancock shouldn’t be allowed to appear on I’m A Celebrity – and this die-hard fan is even considering switching off as part of a one-woman protest.
But would I be alone in doing that?
During the pandemic, he was one of the most hated men in Britain.
And, following that CCTV footage of him snogging his aide, his reputation plummeted even further.
So why is Matt Hancock being rewarded for such behaviour with a reported fee of £400,000?
Well, as he enters camp tonight (November 9), screaming all the way in his first trial, it really is beyond me.
Matt Hancock shouldn’t be allowed on I’m A Celebrity
Yes, he’ll most likely be voted to do every single Bushtucker Trial. But that will only give the attention-seeking MP even more airtime.
I guess at least ITV will get its money’s worth out of him. But at what actual cost?
The man was Health Secretary during the coronavirus pandemic.
You know the one where care homes didn’t have enough PPE. Where we were allowed out the house for an hour a day and where we weren’t allowed to hold the hands of our loved ones as they died scared and alone.
Where my mum had to undergo gruelling cancer treatment on her own, where I was only allowed to see her if I was delivering toilet rolls and where we lost our jobs, our mental health and our normal lives.
Yet he was doing more than holding the hand of Gina Coladangelo – as the CCTV showed.
And now he’s being rewarded for his appalling behaviour with a hefty fee and prime-time TV exposure.
It is just wrong and shouldn’t be allowed.
No second chances here
Yes, everyone deserves a second chance. But if you lost a loved one during COVID then you won’t get a second chance to say goodbye to them.
What’s that Matt, we were allowed to FaceTime them to say goodbye? If I hear him say once he’s missing his loved ones during his time in the jungle my blood will boil.
Why should he be allowed to jet off to Australia, boost his profile and his bank balance and lark about getting covered in fish guts in the name of entertainment?
Hell, ITV, why didn’t you just go one step further and sign up Boris Johnson!
You know, the man who didn’t lock down the country in time, the man who cancelled Christmas two days before the big day, the man who was fined for his bloody Downing Street parties.
Matt Hancock to make charitable donation
Now, kind-hearted Matt has defended his appearance and said that he is giving his fee to charity.
But not the entire fee, it seems – or he’d surely be shouting that little fact from the rooftops.
Writing in The Sun, he said: “It’s our job as politicians to go to where the people are — not to sit in ivory towers in Westminster.”
In that case, where was my invite to your cheese and wine parties during lockdown, Matt?
“I thought long and hard about this. In fact I turned down I’m A Celebrity twice this summer, but when they approached me for a third time last week, I had a change of heart,” he continued.
And, before you say what we’re all thinking, he insists it “wasn’t the cheque that changed my mind”.
Yeah right. So you’re donating the lot to charity, then Matt?
‘Complete transparency’
“I will be making a donation to St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk and causes supporting dyslexia off the back of my appearance. I will, of course, also declare the amount I receive from the show to Parliament to ensure complete transparency, as normal.”
A donation? Let’s hope there’s “complete transparency” over that figure, too. Although based on his previous deceitful behaviour, we doubt it.
I’ll very much be voting with my remote control.
As a side note, I should point out that he will still receive his pay for his actual job. You know, the one that he’s leaving his ivory tower and flying halfway across the world to, apparently, carry out.
Oh and did I mention that he gets paid a reported £84,000?
The only good thing about this is that his estranged wife Martha will hopefully be getting a sizeable chunk of the fee as part of what I hope is a huge child support agreement.
Hopefully this time he will finally do right by her and their three kids. Although spare a thought for them having to see their dad eat kangaroo penis on prime-time telly.
ITV’s greatest-ever signing?
Now, some may argue that Hancock is ITV’s greatest-ever I’m A Celebrity signing.
I am very much not in this camp. And I wouldn’t want to be in any other camp that he’s in either.
Surely the celebrities in there with him will feel the same? He’ll be right there with Iain Lee and Amir Khan scoffing the strawberries and cream and lying about it.
If I was there I’d be leading the revolt, shouting I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here at the top of my lungs.
It’s me or him, ITV, I’d be saying.
But as I’m not in there, and the only power I have is a complaint to Ofcom, I’ll very much be voting with my remote control.
So it’s a sad – and actually really angry – farewell from me to I’m A Celebrity.
I won’t be watching until he’s voted out. His inclusion has ruined what promised to be the best three weeks of telly this year.
And I really, really hope that the rest of the viewing public are with me.
We can’t reward a man who has wronged pretty much the entire nation with a hefty fee and the chance to redeem himself.
Read more: Petition to stop Matt Hancock appearing on I’m A Celebrity hits 20k signatures
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