He has interviewed more than 1,000 stars over 475 laughter-packed chat shows but Jonathan Ross says one name will not make it on to his guest list – Matt Hancock.
Ross, aka Wossy, can’t stand seeing the disgraced Tory MP on ITV ’s I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here.
And the host insists he will never give Hancock a seat on his sofa.
Jonathan told the Sunday People : “No, I wouldn’t. He’s not a celebrity. He’s a horrible human being and I cannot bear the way people take no responsibility for their actions.”
Hancock, who went into the jungle while Parliament is still sitting, has been covered in slop and slime and forced to eat all manner of animal parts as viewers continually voted for him to face the Bushtucker trials.
The father of three, who quit as Health Secretary after he was snapped snogging his aide Gina Colangelo, told campmates he is seeking “a bit of forgiveness”.
But Wossy, who has spoken out about the horrific death toll of NHS workers during the pandemic, is in no mood to forgive.
Describing Hancock, who has now lost the Tory Party whip, he said: “He was very bad when he was in office and he’s – remarkably – even worse now he’s out of it!”
But Jonathan, 61, admits he is hooked on the jungle show.
He said: “I am enjoying it. It’s a very interesting year and it’s great fun to see how they are mixed together. I am more impressed by the women then the men.”
The stars line up to appear on The Jonathan Ross show sofa. But Wossy struggles to name a favourite guest.
He said: “I’ve done so many it’s hard to remember them all. John Travolta I love, Ricky Gervais I love.
“Peter Kay’s always been great when we’ve had him on, and Michael McIntyre, who’s back on in a couple of weeks’ time.
“Joan Rivers I did once... I’ve kind of done everyone. The problem is it all runs together in my head.”
There is no mention of Boris Johnson, who appeared on Wossy’s show in 2014. During the pandemic in 2020, he criticised the then-PM’s “inept leadership”.
But motormouth Wossy seemed pretty starstruck when he interviewed Gwyneth Paltrow and told her: “If you want to have sex I will phone my wife and get her permission.”
The Oscar-winner is one of many Hollywood A-listers to face Wossy, including Michael Douglas and Russell Crowe and glamorous Joan Collins. Jonathan said: “I don’t think anyone has really been a diva. But I like it when new people come up that I haven’t done. I always put new acts on the show.”
Wossy is also a judge on ITV’s reality show The Masked Singer – and he let slip next year’s series will include a massive star signing.
He said: “I’m not sure what I am allowed to say. But I can tell you one thing: There is a genuine, stadium-filling name on the show.
“Their name came up and someone dismissed it because we thought there’s no way this person would be on the show. But they were.”
Jonathan joked his dream job would be taking over from Hollywood actor George Clooney – as the face of Nespresso coffee pods.
He said: “I’m after his gig. I’ll tell you what’s on my rider – a Nespresso coffee machine in my room and some Nespresso pods.”
But there is more chance he will end up being a reality star.
Wossy said: “I like reality shows. I’ve never been snobbish about them. Who knows? Now ITV are bringing back Big Brother, if they’re going to do Celebrity Big Brother, maybe I’ll go in that.”
But he will need approval from screenwriter wife, Jane Goldman, 52. They have been married for 34 years have three kids, Honey, 25, Betty, 31, and Harvey, 28.
Some of the family, along with Honey’s boyfriend Zane, appear on Celebrity Gogglebox.
But Jonathan said: “My wife always says, ‘You can’t go in Big Brother.’ It’s partly because she wants me home and partly because she doesn’t want people to see me snoring.”
Wossy was one of the BBC ’s highest paid stars, on £6million a year, before he switched to ITV in 2011.
He now reportedly earns around £2million a year.
His first foray into showbiz was a Kellogg’s Rice Krispies advert at the age of 10.
He later became a TV researcher and was an extra in It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, before his chat show, Jonathan Ross Last Resort, was launched on Channel 4 in 1987.
Wossy is known for his flamboyant dress sense, which he puts down to his humble beginnings in Leytonstone in London’s East End.
He said: “I had a very poor upbringing and I never had any new clothes when I was a kid. This sounds Dickensian, but I had shoes with holes in them and we put cardboard in the bottom so the water didn’t get in.
“So I think I always wanted to have my own clothes...and now I’ve bought all the wrong ones!”
