Matt Hancock has told his I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! campmates that he is seeking 'forgiveness' in emotional scenes in the jungle today (Friday). The former health secretary was speaking frankly in the camp about his role in the pandemic which saw more than 200,000 people die in the UK.
The West Suffolk MP, 44, said that he made a "mistake" when he was caught flouting coronavirus rules which he helped make by having an affair in his ministerial office with aide Gina Coladangelo. Hancock subsequently resigned as health secretary in June 2021.
On his third day in the camp, Hancock took part in his third Bushtucker Trial as voted for by the public. In the first eating challenge of the series, he faced camel’s penis, sheep’s vagina and cow’s anus in La Cucaracha Cafe, meaning The Cockroach Cafe in English, reports PA.
He was paired with Culture Club’s Boy George to bring back 11 stars for camp. Sitting opposite each other in a Mexican-themed jungle cafe while a Mariachi band played, Hancock first faced a fish-eye taco which he said tasted “very fishy,” while Boy George ate sticky beans.
Hancock had to drink an entire glass of blended meal worms accompanied with a witchetty grub garnish – which he described as “absolutely disgusting” branding the texture “horrible.” Meanwhile Boy George, who is being allowed to eat vegetarian options during the tasks, compared eating a fermented duck egg to his fellow campmate Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver’s fart – which was “like charcoal.”
The Tory MP said eating the tip of a camel’s penis was “soft and crunchy,” and described the thought of eating a sheep’s vagina as “disgusting”. After being served a cow’s anus, he added: “The texture’s terrible and all the time you’re thinking about what you’re eating. I don’t recommend it as a main course.”
Co-host Ant McPartlin joked: “We’ll take it off the menu, thank you for that.” Musician Boy George also gagged loudly as he tackled a plate of fermented plums, adding: “It tastes like perfume.”
For the final star, Hancock had to eat cockroaches and blended cockroach dip. Boy George faced blended and fermented seaweed and the pair earned a full house of stars.
After the challenge, Hancock was questioned by his campmates about breaking coronavirus social distancing rules during the pandemic.
Hancock said: “It was a mistake, because I fell in love with somebody. That’s why I apologised for it.”
TV presenter and property expert Scarlette Douglas said: “It’s that kind of, you just do it and then afterwards it’s like, ‘Oh I’m sorry, I’m sorry’.”
Hancock replied: “No, because it’s bigger than that.”
Loose Women star Charlene White said: “It’s massively bigger than that. My aunt died from Covid in the first wave. So, we couldn’t go to the hospital to go and visit her.
"I had to sit by myself in the church at her funeral. We couldn’t hug each other because we were following guidance.
“And I get that you fell in love, I understand all of those things, but 'sorry' for a lot of families like mine doesn’t really cut it.”
Hancock replied: “Yeah. Well, there you go. That’s one of the reasons that I regret it as much as I do.”
Speaking to White, he added: “Do you know what it is actually, what I’m really looking for is a bit of forgiveness, that’s what I’m really looking for.”
Douglas said: “I nearly cried then.”
Hancock replied: “So did I. We all make mistakes. I made a pretty big one.”
The exchange prompted both White and Cleaver to give him a hug, to which the actress added: “That took balls Matt to say that.”
Hancock later told the Bush Telegraph that his campmates asked questions that the public have got and “it’s only respectful to just give completely straight and truthful answers”.
He added: “I wasn’t really expecting it, but it did get very emotional.”
The MP joined the cast of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! on Wednesday after facing much criticism over his decision from the public and fellow politicians.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues on ITV on Saturday at 9pm
