Matt Hancock being hired for I’m A Celeb, left a bad taste in many people’s mouths.
But his stint being such a runaway success? Well, that was more sickening than a plate of fermented quail eggs..... with a garnish of fish eyes.
So just how did one of the most controversial campmates in the ITV's show's history win over the public?
Hancock entered the jungle a shamed ex-Health Secretary, who’d all-but abandoned his West Suffolk constituents. He’d humiliated his family and broken his own social distancing rules with mistress Gina Coladangelo. He'd been linked to the PPE contracts scandal. And - pivotally - he was behind the unlawful decision to release 25,000 hospital patients into care homes without Covid tests.
Exactly how many of the viewers’ vulnerable grandparents died because of this decision will never be known.
But hey, if "good guy" Matt can win some plastic stars and withstand a few bugs, who cares, right?
Perhaps the nation is suffering from collective amnesia.
Or perhaps Twitter conspiracy theorists are right: betting syndicates are deliberately affecting the vote.
More likely however, is that this is just the sad result of another well-executed Hancock election campaign.
After all, one thing Hancock does know how to do, is to win votes.
Mike Tindall noted on Saturday: “Matt’s making sure his t-shirt and phone numbers are on display at all times.”
But in truth, the MP’s attempts to win our hearts, minds (and pity) started on day one.
First came Hancock’s relentless self-rebranding: he wasn’t the blundering loverat, he was the hapless everyman caught in an impossible job. We needed to see the “real” him, he’s only “human”. He didn’t cheat, he “just fell in love”.
It was the age-old underdog, redemption narrative, with a dash of fish-out-of-water Hugh Grant-style foppery thrown in.
The real clincher however was his PR machine - and the decision to target those who (on the whole) wanted to forget the pandemic more than him: the TikTokkers.
His staff got 400 million views for 24 videos to his 77,000 followers. Many included hacks about the maximum times you could vote- five on the app, 600 on the phone.
Who knows why the TikTokkers liked Hancock. But once a trend starts, it’s hard to stop, no matter how ridiculous.
After all, this is the same app that sparked the Tide Pod Challenge - when thousands of teens risked their lives by eating washing liquid tablets.
Ironically, though, they might have been easier to stomach than Hancock’s new popularity.
