Matt Hancock could earn £1million a year from showbiz career

The former Health Secretary, who has been blasted for deserting his West Suffolk constituency to earn a reported £400k on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…, could prove surprisingly popular with the public in the jungle, said showbiz guru Jonathan Shalit. But he added Mr Hancock must ‘resign his seat’ first.While Britain faces a cold winter amid soaring energy costs, the future for Mr Hancock is looking much rosier, said Mr Shalit, the CEO of the Intertalent Rights Group.He said it was obvious why the 44-year-old had signed up for the hugely popular reality show, which starts tonight.’I suspect the reasons are quite simple,’ Mr Shalit told GB News. ‘He needs to make a ton of money. Now he’s divorced and he’s got children.’He doesn’t get much money as a backbench MP, yet his outgoings will be significant, so he needs a lot. Also, his career’s going nowhere in the Conservative party.’Rishi Sunak quite clearly isn’t going to give him a big job, so his career as an MP is coming to an end. I’m A Celebrity provides an opportunity to go on a new journey.’ Matt Hancock could prove surprisingly popular with the public in the jungle (Image: GETTY)On potential earnings from his appearance in the jungle Down Under, Mr Shalit said: ‘I would say on average, a million pounds a year.’If he does well in I’m A Celebrity, you could get a million to a million and a half the next year, but equally that could drop down to £750,000.’But someone like Matt can probably make about a million pounds a year, quite often on weekends. For example, he could probably do three or four appearances for £10-15,000 each minimum, if not up to £60-70,000.’Plus a few endorsements, plus television shows, plus writing. He’s going to have a lucrative career if he goes down the celebrity route, but it will be at the expense of having to resign his seat.’He added: ‘I think the thing about Matt Hancock is – and I’ve met him a few times – he’s a really nice guy. And I think everyone who gets to meet him likes him.’The way Michael Portillo has been mentioned is interesting.’When he started becoming a celebrity at the end of his political journey, he was the most reviled man in Britain, and people relished the fact he lost his seat.’He turned that on its head and has now become a very popular and amiable guy. I suspect Matt Hancock will do that.’Mr Hancock quit as Health Secretary in June last year after he breached government Covid social distancing guidelines by kissing a colleague.His decision to go on I’m A Celebrity… has made him one of the most controversial reality TV show contestants ever. But he insists he is hoping to engage with voters and raise awareness of dyslexia while on the ITV series.The shock move has been branded ‘unbelievable’ by former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe, who has appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother. She said Mr Hancock was walking away from ‘an awful lot of important stuff’ in Parliament to enter the show.’I think it’s unbelievable that he’s wandering off to the jungle during the parliamentary session,’ said Ms Widdecombe.’If it was recess I wouldn’t have a view but there’s an awful lot of important stuff coming up.’The 75-year-old former MP added: ‘The interesting question is, what will the public do? Will the public decide they want to see him suffer and so keep him in? Or will they never want to see his face again and vote him out!’