Jordan North has said he was "the Matt Hancock" of a previous I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! as he was voted for by the public to do lots of trials like the former health secretary. The 32-year-old radio DJ told the PA news agency at the TV Choice Awards in London that he went to sleep on the celebrity show in November 2020 thinking the public "didn’t like him".
North was on series 20 while it was filming during the pandemic at Gwrych Castle in North Wales. Hancock, who arrived in the Australian jungle last week, has been voted by the public to do six consecutive challenges.
On Monday, this came to an end with Chris Moyles, Boy George and Babatunde Aleshe taking on the next trial on Tuesday. North, who ended up being runner-up, said the Busktucker trials were the "scariest thing I’ve ever done".
He added: "I genuinely thought I was going to come out first. I was, pretty much the Matt Hancock of that series.
"I got voted for every trial in the first week. And you just think they hate me. You’re going to bed at night thinking everyone doesn’t like you."
North went on: "You lose all status, and everything like that. And you’re just, you’re all candidates. Everyone’s even in there."
He also said: "Everyone thinks there’s lots of people there to help you in case you get bitten or anything like that (in a trial). It’s really not like that - you sign your life away when you go on that show.
"And loads of people come up to you and say, 'were you really that hungry? Are you really that tired?’
"Like yes, yes. Why else, would I get in a coffin full of snakes?"
Call The Midwife actor Cliff Parisi, who was on I’m A Celebrity in 2019, also told PA: "I’ve been voting for Matt Hancock to do every trial…because I find it amusing. There is only one thing funnier than a celebrity getting poo and cockroaches on their head, it is a politician getting poo and cockroaches on their head… brilliant bit of casting."
Presenter Denise van Outen said a family member also keeps voting for Hancock. She added: "I say to her you need to not do that.
"You need to vote for somebody else to do a trial. And I think a lot of people are feeling that way."
Broadcaster Dan Walker also said he would like to see someone else do a trial rather than Hancock. He added: "I’m just watching, watching with interest.
"I think it’s fascinating to see how the public are reacting to him. It’s just an interesting social experiment… there are some big egos in there."
Hancock has also been asked on I’m A Celebrity about breaking coronavirus social distancing rules during the pandemic by having an affair in his ministerial office with aide Gina Coladangelo. The 44-year-old, who resigned as health secretary in June 2021, said on the show: "It was a mistake, because I fell in love with somebody. That’s why I apologised for it."
Derry Girls’ Kathy Kiera Clarke also told PA at the TV Choice Awards it was "compulsive viewing" watching Hancock in his "strange situation" with his campmates. "I’m just intrigued by the dynamic between him and the other people," she added.
Siobhan McSweeney, who also starred in the Northern Irish comedy show, said: "I think that public apologies should not be paid. You shouldn’t get paid for a public apology."
Hancock is donating part of his I’m A Celebrity appearance fee to charity. Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas, meanwhile, told PA she would like to do I’m A Celebrity "one day".
"I could do that," she said. "I could touch the eyeballs and squishy things and bundles. They’re not going to let you do anything where you’re going to die."
On watching the show, she added: "I’m a huge fan of Boy George. And I just think the whole cast put together is absolutely remarkable, so I’m enjoying it for sure."
North also said he is going to work on Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, which also stars I’m A Celebrity presenters, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. He will also star in two BBC Three shows, a music competition called Project Icon and a reality TV programme called Warrior Island where young people have to improve physical and mental skills.
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