Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has made it through to Sunday’s final of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! along with actor Owen Warner and footballer Jill Scott after Mike Tindall was eliminated.
The former England rugby player, who is married to King Charles III’s niece Zara Tindall, received the fewest votes from the public, ending his stint on the ITV reality show.
Mike Tindall said afterwards that he wanted ex-England player Scott to win.
It means Hancock could unexpectedly win the show and be crowned king of the jungle on Sunday night.
His decision to appear had been criticized by MPs and the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, who said he was “very disappointed” with the former health secretary.
Earlier this month, Dr Cathy Gardner, a grieving daughter who won a high court ruling that Hancock’s policy on nursing home discharges at the start of the Covid pandemic was unlawful, saying that the producers’ decision to cast him and pay him a substantial fee was “two fingers to those of us who are grieving, because they don’t seem to care about the meaning of it”.
The Tory MP joined the show on November 9 and his resignation as health secretary last year for breaching coronavirus social distancing rules has been a major talking point.
He admitted to fellow campers in the Australian jungle that there was “no excuse” for the actions that led to his resignation in June 2021 after he was photographed kissing a fellow camper, Gina Coladangelo, in her ministerial office during the pandemic, but insisted he “fell in love”. .
The following day, Hancock told the show that she was seeking “forgiveness” for breaking social distancing rules after one of her fellow reality show contestants, Loose Women presenter Charlene White, criticized her behaviour.
He was appointed camp leader after facing his fifth consecutive bushtucker trial.
The MP said being voted leader of the I’m a Celebrity camp “more than makes up for” losing the 2019 Tory leadership election.
Earlier this week, Hancock was ruled to have breached the government’s business appointment rules by failing to consult the watchdog before appearing on the show, the chairman of the Business Appointments Advisory Committee said.
However, it was recommended that no further action should be taken.
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Hancock, who lost the Tory whip after it was announced he would appear on the ITV show, is still being paid as an independent MP and is rumored to have been paid £400,000 to appear on the show.
But the former health secretary could be barred from standing as a Tory MP at the next general election if he does not reclaim the Tory whip soon.
Conservative MPs have until December 5 to tell party headquarters if they want to stand again.
Unless the whip is reinstated sooner, Mr Hancock will remain an independent MP and his West Suffolk constituency association would have to select a new candidate.