Matt Hancock signs up to I'm a Celebrity – and suspended from Tory party
The former Health Secretary is reportedly heading Down Under.
Matt Hancock has been suspended as a Conservative MP after reportedly deciding to participate in ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.
According to The Sun, the former Health Secretary, who controversially resigned from his position last year, will be one of the late additions on this year's season of the long-running show.
Chief Whip Simon Hart MP said: "Following a conversation with Matt Hancock, I have considered the situation and believe this is a matter serious enough to warrant suspension of the whip with immediate effect."
Disapproval of the decision stems from the fact that Parliament is currently sitting, with some feeling that Hancock should be focused on the needs of his constituency of West Suffolk.
RadioTimes.com has reached out to ITV for comment.
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This is not the first time that a politician has found themselves in hot water due to I'm a Celebrity, with former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries also suspended back in 2012 after appearing on the reality show.
Previously, Liberal Democrat Lembit Öpik also took part in the show, but was not a serving MP at the time, having lost his Montgomeryshire seat several months earlier in the 2010 General Election.
Hancock became one of the most well-known politicians in the country during the height of the COVID pandemic, where he would often lead press briefings on the spread of the illness and the Government's response.
However, he resigned from the senior position of Health Secretary in the summer of 2021 following leaked footage of an extramarital affair between himself and a colleague, which also breached COVID guidelines in place at the time.
Since then, he has returned to being a backbencher in Parliament and is now sitting as an independent MP until such time as the Conservative whip is restored – there's no guarantee that it will be, but in Dorries's case it was about six months later.
Hancock is expected to be a late addition to the I'm a Celebrity 2022 line-up, with the latest rumours suggesting comedian Seann Walsh will be joining at a similar point in the series.
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here premieres on ITV at 9pm on Sunday 6th November 2022. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
