Matt Hancock 's upcoming appearance on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! may not go as well as he thinks, according to a former political advisor.
Dan Hughes, who advised the Labour Party predicts the Tory MP will possibly be the first celebrity to be voted off the series later this month - revealing how the politician is unlikely to win any new fans during his time on the reality TV series.
The former health secretary has been stripped of the Tory whip after agreeing to appear on the ITV show, as he joins the likes of Chris Moyles, Love Island star Olivia Attwood and royal Mike Tindall preparing themselves for a stint in the Australian jungle.
One of Mr Hancock's allies has claimed the politician will declare his fee for appearing on the ITV show and say the West Suffolk MP is planning to donate some of the money received in exchange for braving the Australian outback to charity.
Mr Hancock was forced to quit as health secretary in June 2021 after breaking coronavirus lockdown rules by conducting an affair in his ministerial office with aide Gina Coladangelo.
A source close to the dad-of-three describes I'm a Celebrity as 'an incredible opportunity' for the MP and claims it's a great way for Mr Hancock to show his 'human side'.
However, a top PR expert and former advisor to the Labour Party thinks Mr Hancock's time as a celebrity camper will end in disaster.
"He was a national embarrassment during the Covid-19 pandemic and he’ll be an even greater laughing stock on I’m a Celebrity," Dan Hughes, founder of ThisGeneration says.
"He’ll either be voted out first or punished by the public with countless Bushtucker Trials. I suspect people will actually want to see him suffering the ordeal of chewing kangaroo testicles."
The leading PR strategist and former Labour Party adviser adds: "People wont take kindly to him jetting off to Oz when there are several major issues facing the county.
"His constituents will rightly be concerned. It isn’t good PR for him. He’s not exactly going to endear himself to voters. He’s not a likeable character. I suspect this has more to do with him publicising his new book than anything else. It could be a total car crash."
As news of Mr Hancock's upcoming appearance on I'm a Celebrity broke, many viewers of the show took to social media to slam ITV's last minute signing.
"Not only is Matt Hancock flogging his ghastly book the ‘Pandemic Diaries’, this ghastly individual is now off for a bit of self-promotion by going on I’m A Celebrity," broadcaster Dominique Samuels wrote on Twitter this morning.
"The guy is a vile narcissist who must never be accepted back into public life, despite his gross efforts."
Another wrote: "Matt Hancock is joining 'I'm A Celebrity...'.
"British politics is just Monty Python, Benny Hill, Dad's Army & Fawlty Towers all in one these days. The UK is no longer a country you can take seriously. Embarrassing. Hopeless."
Some seem to be looking forward to see Mr Hancock tackling a Bushtucker Trial Down Under, with one quipping: "Matt Hancock is to go on I'm a celebrity. Just the man to eat kangaroo b******s."
Another seemingly defended Mr Hancock as he's stripped of the Tory whip, writing: "Not that I have a particular problem with Matt Hancock losing the whip for abandoning his MP duties temporarily and going on I'm a Celebrity, but doesn't Boris Johnson go on extensive holidays while the House is sitting and yet faces no penalty for this?"
