Former UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been suspended by the Conservative Party after he agreed to take part in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
According to The Sun:
The politician, who had to resign after The Sun exposed him for breaking his own lockdown rules by having an affair in the office, will be the 12th star to go into the jungle.
Ten celebrities will go into I’m A celeb this Sunday when the new series starts but Matt, 44, will be one of two latecomers who’ll go into the camp. The other is comedian Seann Walsh, 36.
A TV insider said: “Matt is a sensational signing for the show as producers love a star with a story to tell – and they always hope they’ll spill the beans round the campfire.
“He’s the latest in a long line of figures from the political sphere, including MP Nadine Dorries, Stanley Johnson and MP Lembit Opik.
“There’s been a question mark over who the twelfth campmate would be, partly because negotiations over Matt going in were so top secret.
It seems Matt was a last-minute signing.”
The MP is on a reality TV hot streak after taking part in the upcoming series of tough Channel 4 show Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
It will air in the new year following his jungle stint.
Westminster sources say Mr Hancock sprung the I’m A Celeb news on stunned Tory colleagues after not getting promoted in Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle late last week.
He had also been tipped to run for boss of the powerful House of Commons Treasury committee, but unexpectedly pulled out of that race on Monday.
But he risks the wrath of colleagues in Westminster and his Suffolk seat is as Parliament is currently sitting, meaning he will be bunking off representing his constituents.
One source said it’s “very likely” he will have the Tory whip suspended today.
