Ant McPartlin is seemingly not paying much attention to the backlash surrounding Matt Hancock's last minute addition to the I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! line-up.
The star - who hosts the ITV show alongside best pal Declan Donnelly - looked relaxed and happy as he enjoyed an afternoon at the beach with wife Anne-Marie, ahead of work beginning this weekend when I'm a Celebrity kicks off on Sunday at 9pm with a 105 minute special.
Fans had been looking forward to the long-running reality TV show returning to the Australian jungle for the first time since 2019, but the news former health secretary Mr Hancock will be appearing on the show has tainted things for many viewers.
A petition created by people bereaved by Covid-19 arguing that ITV should reverse their invitation to the Tory MP to star on the show has gained over 15,000 signatures since launching less than 24 hours ago.
Mr Hancock - who receives a £84,144 yearly salary as an elected MP - was forced to quit as health secretary in June 2021 after breaking coronavirus lockdown rules by conducting an affair in his ministerial office with aide Gina Coladangelo.
In addition to the petition, celebrities such as Piers Morgan and actress Kathy Burke have slammed the decision to allow the MP for West Suffolk to use the show as a platform for his personal dyslexia awareness campaign rather than focus on his constituents during a time of financial crisis for many across the country.
Enjoying some downtime with his wife on the beach, Ant appeared to be in good spirits as he soaked up the sun Down Under while the British public fumes about Mr Hancock's upcoming cameo on the ITV show.
The star, 46, cut a casual figure in an all-black ensemble - donning dark shades, black shorts and a black T-shirt that showed off a tattoo on the inside of his right arm.
Anne-Marie also opted for a dark outfit for the afternoon stroll with her husband - rocking a black and blue Los Angeles Dodgers baseball shirt as a cover-up for during jaunt.
At one point, Geordie Ant could be seen larking around with a ball as the presenter made the most of his time off before he and pal Dec return to our screens on Sunday.
"You get a much better tan in New South Wales than you do Wales," Ant joked earlier this year on The One Show, as he and Dec discussed their desire for I'm a Celebrity to return to Australia.
After Covid-19 spread across the globe and made international travel a logistical nightmare, for the first time in the show's history, the ITV show swapped Australia for North Wales in 2020 and once again the following year.
This year's series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! has seen stars including Love Island's Olivia Attwood, Boy George, royal Mike Tindall and a whole host of other big names already land Down Under ready for the show's big jungle comeback this weekend.
But one 'star' many fans of the show aren't looking forward to seeing on their screens is Mr Hancock, who flew into Australia last night after being revealed as a shock last-minute addition to the line-up.
The former health secretary was stripped of the Tory whip earlier in the day following his decision to camp in the outback with reality TV stars and celebrities while still a sitting MP for the people of West Suffolk.
Mr Hancock - who was defended by Good Morning Britain presenters earlier today - insisted he 'wasn't losing his marbles' or had 'one too many drinks' as he tried to explain his upcoming venture into reality TV.
"I want to raise the profile of my dyslexia campaign to help every dyslexic child unleash their potential — even if it means taking an unusual route to get there, via the Australian jungle," the former health secretary wrote in The Sun.
A petition calling for ITV to block Mr Hancock appearing on the show argues the politician is not a celebrity but instead, the man "who oversaw the UK having one of the highest death tolls in the world from Covid-19 whilst breaking his own lockdown rules."
"The fact that he is trying to cash in on his terrible legacy, rather than showing some humility or seeking to reflect on the appalling consequences of his time in Government says it all about the sort of his person he is," a section explaining the petition's importance reads on 38 Degrees.
"Families were ripped apart by Matt Hancock ’s actions, and turning on the TV to see him being paraded around as a joke is sickening.
"If he had any respect for families who lost loved ones to Covid-19, he would be sharing his private emails with the Covid Inquiry, not eating bugs on TV."
Some fans have already pondered how the show's hosts Ant and Dec will react to Mr Hancock's time in the jungle, following the Geordie duo's cheeky quip about former Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson throughout last year's series of I'm a Celebrity.
Ant and Dec did not hold back with their mockery of the then-prime minister as revelations about Downing Street's alleged 'partygate' came out during last year's series at Gwrych Castle in north Wales.
Many of the sarcastic skits included Dec mimicking Mr Johnson when he lost his place during a speech at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in South Shields and Ant joking about how the celebrities voted for a new camp leader but categorically did not have a party.
I'm a Celebrity fans believe similar puns from the cheeky chappies will be directed their puns at Mr Hancock throughout this year's series.
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