, a man who has spent more than a decade in politics climbing to new heights of cringe with every passing year. In his first major interview as a politician, he compared himself to Winston Churchill. He launched his own app, called 'Matt Hancock', and filmed himself doing parkour. As health secretary, he seemingly pretended to cry for Piers Morgan, would stand eerily close to women live on TV, inhabited Alan Partridge at 5pm every evening and refused to do a press-up without a photographer being present. He then merrily blew up his life and career when he was caught grappling with Gina Coladangelo in his office. To rebrand, he became the sort of man who wears turtleneck jumpers, goes wild swimming, writes memoirs and appears on podcasts sponsored by meal-replacement powders. And to top it all, in front of all their mates, Rishi Sunak completely ignored him for a celebratory hug last week. So, frankly, if Matt Hancock wasn't doing I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! this year, that would have been the real political story of the week. However, mercifully, at the great cost of the Conservative Party whip, he is – along with a line-up of names a million monkeys with a million typewriters and a million court summons couldn't put together: actual icon Boy George, minor royal Mike Tindall, Eileen from Corrie, somebody from Love Island, Lioness Jill Scott…){kind=link}
With Matt Hancock about to enter the I’m a Celeb jungle, he joins a long list of MPs attempting a rebrand via light entertainment
The most surprising thing about Matt Hancock doing I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! is surely that anybody felt remotely surprised. “Matt Hancock’s doing… what?” people were exclaiming, with apparent confusion.
But remember, this isn’t Ken Clarke giving Ru Paul’s Drag Race a go. This isn’t Sir Lindsay Hoyle and his deputy Dame Eleanor Laing navigating MTV’s Just Tattoo of Us. This isn’t the Eagle sisters signing up for Dated and Related on Netflix.
No, this is Matt Hancock, MP for the Male Midlife Crisis (and West Suffolk), a man who has spent more than a decade in politics climbing to new heights of cringe with every passing year. In his first major interview as a politician, he compared himself to Winston Churchill. He launched his own app, called “Matt Hancock”, and filmed himself doing parkour.
As health secretary, he seemingly pretended to cry for Piers Morgan, would stand eerily close to women live on TV, inhabited Alan Partridge at 5pm every evening and refused to do a press-up without a photographer being present. He then merrily blew up his life and career when he was caught grappling with Gina Coladangelo in his office.