Holly Willoughby scolded Lembit Opik on This Morning for “having a go” at Angela Rayner live on-air.
The former politician was invited on the sdaytime show to discuss Matt Hancock’s appearance on I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, which has prompted conntroversy.
He was joined by deputy Labour leader Rayner, who called former health secretary Hancock’s decision to join the series “offensive” due to the struggles he put people through during the pandemic.
“If you want to be a Member of Parliament, which our job is to represent our constituents and vote... we had two very important votes yesterday, he wasn’t there for them. This is issues around pensioners, this is issues around the Home Office, and he’s not there,” Rayner said.
Opik, unimpressed with Rayner’s comment, decided to compare Hancock’s I’m a Celebrity appearance to Rayner’s regular slots on LBC and, indoing so, addressed the fact she once received a gift of 11 dresses from a company.
However, this confused and, in turn, angered both Willoughby and her co-presenter Philip Schofield.
“Angela, first of all you do LBC – there are 11 dresses in your declaration,” he said, to which Schofield said: “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
Willoughby, before being broken off by Opik, added: “I’m not sure you’re here to...”
After Opik had finished supporting Hancock, Rayner clarified that the 11 dressed were donated to her by a company “because of the misogynistic abuse that I faced about what I wear in parliament”.
She continued by saying that she declared the items, and that receiving them did not affect her MP duties.
Willoughby supported Rayner, and chided Opik for his comments. “You don’t have to be here and defend yourself, that’s not your role on here,’ she said, adding: “We were talking about you, Lembit, talking about your friend, and in order to defend him, you don’t need to trample on somebody else.’
When Opik claimed he was not “actually having a go” at Rayner, Schofield replied: “Well, you were.”
Hancock will enter the jungle in tonight’s episode of I’m a Celebrity (9 November), which airs at 9pm on ITV.
