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Former UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been suspended as a Conservative MP for being a contestant on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!.
According to the BBC, Tory whips have been unimpressed with the news this morning that he will be one of the 12 contestants on the Ant and Dec-hosted 2022 edition – which is filmed in Australia – and have taken away the whip.
Conservative Chief Whip Simon Hart 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.”
Hancock was not revealed on the contestant roster issued this morning for I’m a Celebrity but is understood to be one of two contestants who will join the show slightly later than episode one, along with comedian and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Seann Walsh. I’m a Celebrity is one of ITV’s most popular entertainment shows and draws millions of viewers across its three-week run just before Christmas. The last two have been filmed in Wales instead of Australia due to the pandemic.
A similar incident happened almost exactly a decade ago when Nadine Dorries, who went on to be Boris Johnson’s Culture Secretary, was a contestant on the same UK version of ITV Studios’ hit format. Former Scottish Labour head Kezia Dugdale was nearly suspended when she did the same thing in 2017.
Hancock was Health Secretary during the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic but resigned several months later after footage emerged of him breaking lockdown rules while kissing an aide in his office. He is also a former Culture Secretary, signing off on Channel 4’s relocation out of London amongst other things during his stint in 2018.
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