Matt Hancock has reportedly ‘angered’ bosses of SAS: Who Dares Wins after signing up to I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.
The former Health Secretary, 44, who quit after breaking his own lockdown rules by having an affair with long-time aide Gina Coladangelo, will become the 12th celebrity heading to the Australian jungle.
However, he is said to have already agreed to compete Celebrity SAS in September for the next series which will air in 2023.
‘He’s poured cold water all over it!’ Matt Hancock has allegedly angered SAS: Who Dares Wins bosses after signing up for I’m A Celebrity before his stint on the rival show airs
A source told The Sun: ‘Matt was the star signing for SAS Who Dares Wins but now he’s on I’m A Celebrity it has poured cold water all over it. He will be on air on ITV’s biggest show for a month.
‘Obviously no one working on SAS is impressed as it really takes away from their show and it looks like they signed him after I’m A Celebrity – which isn’t true.’
‘Everyone is pretty angry about what has gone on and it’s not the best move Matt could have made.’
MailOnline has contacted Channel 4 for comment.
Oops! He is said to have already agreed to compete Celebrity SAS in September for the next series which will air in 2023 (Rudy Reyes from the Channel 4 show is pictured)
It comes after friends of Matt’s estranged wife Martha revealed their shock at his decision to star on I’m A Celebrity – a move that got him kicked out of the parliamentary Tory party.
One friend of Martha’s was searing in their condemnation of the father of three today, branding him a ‘total halfwit who’s making some unwise career moves’.
Meanwhile, one former minister predicted Mr Hancock would be selected for a bushtucker trial ‘every day’. Referring to the notorious challenge for contestants to eat kangaroo testicles, the Tory told MailOnline: ‘I have sympathy for the poor kangaroo.’
The politician added: ‘Is Matt Hancock technically a celebrity? I think he’s probably in a slightly lower league than Mike Tindall. If he’s eliminated in the first round he’ll be appalled. He’s going to be the hate figure, every single day he will be doing a challenge.’
Cast: (L-R) Mike Tindall, Owen Warner, Olivia Attwood, Charlene White, Boy George, Scarlette Douglas, Sue Cleaver, Chris Moyles, Babatúndé Aléshé and Jill Scott have been unveiled as the I’m A Celebrity 2022 lineup
The news drew a rapid rebuke from Number 10, with Rishi Sunak’s spokesman saying the Prime Minister believes MPs should be ‘working hard for their constituents’ at a ‘challenging time for the country’. Mr Sunak is ‘unlikely’ to watch Mr Hancock in action, the spokesman added.
Chief Whip Simon Hart announced he had removed the whip from Mr Hancock – the same fate that befell fellow Tory MP Nadine Dorries when she went on the ITV show in 2012. ‘Following a conversation with Matt Hancock, I have considered the situation and believe this is a matter serious enough to warrant suspension of the whip with immediate effect,’ he said.
PR expert Mark Borkowski estimated Mr Hancock could have been paid a £350,000 appearance fee. He told MailOnline: ‘They paid Noel Edmonds £500,000 and that was a top booking – either Hancock is desperate for the visibility or the money… if it’s the money I’d expect £350,000 – he should be very careful what he wishes for.’
Mr Hancock will stay as MP for West Suffolk but serve as an independent. While he will be able to keep his party membership, he will not be able to stand for election as a Conservative party candidate, vote in party contests or stand for committee chairman posts. A source close to the MP said he would donate some of the appearance fee to St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk, but would not say how much.
Oh dear: Mr Hancock – pictured with Ms Coladangelo – will stay as MP for West Suffolk but serve as an independent. While he will be able to keep his party membership, he will not be able to stand for election as a Conservative candidate
Today, a political ally said he had accepted he was unlikely to become a minister again and wanted to connect with ‘younger generations’.
‘Politicians like Matt must go to where the people are – particularly those who are politically disengaged,’ they said. ‘Matt’s of the view that we must embrace popular culture. Rather than looking down on reality TV, we should see it for what it is – a powerful tool to get our message heard by younger generations.’
Mr Hancock first turned down the opportunity to appear on the show because of ‘instability’ the government was facing at the time, according to the source. However, he now believes the administration is ‘stable’ and views his stint on the show as an ‘amazing opportunity’ to talk about issues he really cares about, they claimed.
‘When he was first approached to take part – while he was flattered and naturally curious – it didn’t take him too long to turn the opportunity down because of the instability Government was facing at the time,’ the ally said. ‘Now, though, the Government is stable. Rishi Sunak has made a great start and the whole of the Conservative Party is united behind him.
Hilarious: One friend of Mr Hancock’s estranged wife Martha (who he’s pictured with) was searing in their condemnation of the father of three today, branding him a ‘total halfwit who’s making some unwise career moves’
‘Rishi has a big majority, so he can get his agenda through Parliament. Matt’s talked to the whips, in the same way any MP would when going on a foreign visit, which happens all the time. As I say, Matt doesn’t expect to serve in Government again, but he can support Rishi and the Government in different ways. This is an amazing opportunity to engage with the public and talk about issues he really cares about – including his dyslexia campaign.’
The ally said producers of the show have agreed Mr Hancock can communicate with them if there is an urgent constituency matter. But former Tory MP Ann Widdecombe told Sky News it was wrong for a serving MP to be away ‘for weeks on end’ and asked what would happen ‘if there’s an emergency’.
Andy Drummond, deputy chairman of West Suffolk Conservative Association, said he was looking forward to seeing Mr Hancock ‘eating a kangaroo’s penis’ on the show – a reference to the notorious bushtucker trials in which contestants compete in a series of gruesome challenges to win stars. ‘Quote me, you can quote me on that,’ he added.
Who takes part in each trial goes down to a public poll, and today bookmaker Ladbrokes suggested voters’ desire for ‘payback’ had seen Mr Hancock become odds-on favourite to set a new record for the most bushtucker trials ever carried out by an I’m A Celeb contestant. It is unclear whether Mr Hancock has already arrived in Australia.
Controversy: Today’s news drew a rapid rebuke from Number 10, with Rishi Sunak’s spokesman saying the PM believes MPs should be ‘working hard for their constituents’ at a ‘challenging time for the country’
Today’s news drew mockery from political rivals, with SNP MP Pete Wishart tweeting: ‘It speaks volumes that @MattHancock would rather be stranded in a remote jungle eating kangaroo testicles than spend a moment longer on the Tory benches at Westminster, as @RishiSunak’s government lurches from one crisis to another.’
Shadow health minister Andrew Gwynne added: ‘To be fair to Matt Hancock, I’d sooner eat wallaby anus than be a Tory MP too.’
Joining Mr Hancock for three weeks of creepy crawlies are former England rugby player Mike Tindall, 80s hitmaker Boy George, Love Island star Olivia Attwood and DJ Chris Moyles. Also starring in the new series on November 6 will be actor Owen Warner, Loose Women’s Charlene White, A Place In The Sun presenter Scarlette Douglas, Coronation Street’s Sue Cleaver, comedian Babatúndé Aléshé and retired England Lioness Jill Scott.
Mr Hancock’s decision has angered those working on SAS Who Dares Wins. The Tory has also signed up for the show, which is due to air on Channel 4 next year. A source told The Sun: ‘Matt was the star signing for SAS Who Dares Wins but now he’s on I’m A Celebrity it has poured cold water all over it. He will be on air on ITV’s biggest show for a month.’
TV show: An ally of Mr Hancock said producers of the ITV show have agreed that Mr Hancock can communicate with them if there is an urgent constituency matter
After playing a central role in coordinating the government’s response to Covid, Mr Hancock’s political career has flagged of late.
He was not awarded a post in Rishi Sunak’s new government, and the new Prime Minister appeared to snub his attempt to offer a handshake outside Tory HQ last week.
He had also reportedly been considering a run to be chairman of the Commons Treasury committee, but pulled out of the race on Monday.
Andrew Smith, a Conservative councillor on West Suffolk Council, said he could see why Mr Hancock might want to appear on I’m A Celeb ‘given what’s happened to him and his personal life and his career’.
‘I can see why he might want to do it, given what’s happened to him and his personal life and his career,’ said Mr Smith, who represents Bardwell ward.
He continued: ‘If I was him I wouldn’t have done it, to be perfectly truthful, but I’m not him.
‘It’s not a show I would watch or indeed I would personally do – I don’t like eating things that I don’t know where they’ve come from, if you get my drift.’
Fellow West Suffolk councillor Carol Bull said she hopes Mr Hancock had made the ‘right decision’.
‘He’s made the decision, presumably he’s thought about it carefully and hopefully it will be, for him, the right decision,’ said Ms Bull, who represents Barningham ward.
She continued: ‘At the end of the day, it depends how he does and how he’s perceived. There will be some who think it’s really good and others who don’t.’
But councillor Ian Houlder was less sympathetic, saying Mr Hancock ‘has no shame’. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he goes back on bended knee to whoever’s in charge of the Conservative Party after his book comes out or whatever in the winter,’ he said.
‘And say, ‘I’ve made a terrible mistake, terribly sorry, can you let me back in, we’re going to need every seat we can get, I’ll do my best,’ all that sort of thing. Because he’s thick-skinned, he’s got no shame at all.’
Mr Houlder, who represents Barrow ward, continued: ‘Everybody knows what he did during the Covid pandemic and he seems to want to rehabilitate himself all the time in the public eye. He’s got a skin as thick as a rhinoceros, quite frankly.’
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Sarah Olney said: ‘Yet again we see a Conservative MP taking voters for granted. At a time when MPs should be supporting their constituents with the cost-of-living crisis, Matt Hancock is choosing instead to go to the jungle to feed his own ego.
‘Matt Hancock should declare how much he is earning from appearing on the show and forego his MP’s salary for the duration. The taxpayer should not pay him while he refuses to do his job.’
Mr Hancock was criticised by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, with its spokesman Joe Ventre saying: ‘Matt Hancock’s plans to wriggle out of his responsibilities are shameful.
‘This grubby spectacle will leave a bad taste in the mouths of his constituents, who will have no one representing them for the fortnight he is off pursuing his TV career.
‘Hancock shouldn’t be entitled to a penny of taxpayers’ money in salary or expenses while he’s living it large in the jungle.’
An insider told The Sun: ‘Matt is a sensational signing for the show as producers love a star with a story to tell – and they always hope they’ll spill the beans round the campfire.
‘He’s the latest in a long line of figures from the political sphere, including MP Nadine Dorries, Stanley Johnson and MP Lembit Opik. There’s been a question mark over who the twelfth campmate would be, partly because negotiations over Matt going in were so top secret. It seems Matt was a last-minute signing.’
MailOnline has contacted Mr Hancock’s representatives for comment.
Hosts: Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly will once again be hosting the ITV series, which is returning to Australia for the first time since the Covid pandemic
This year I’m A Celebrity will also make a much-anticipated return to Australia after being forced to relocate to Wales for two years due to the Covid pandemic.
Once again, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly will be hosting the series, and have already been spotted arriving on the Gold Coast to commence filming.
Voting is now open for viewers to choose who they want to become Jungle VIPs (Very Isolated People), and the lucky few will spend their first night stranded on an island and face the first trial of the series. Voting is free via the I’m A Celebrity app, and closes on November 1 at 9pm.
I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! returns on Sunday, November 9 at 9pm on ITV.
Back soon: I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! returns on Sunday, November 9 at 9pm on ITV (the 2017 camp is pictured)
Matt Hancock ‘angers SAS bosses as he signs up for I’m A Celeb’
Source: Viral Buzz Philippines
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