I’M A CELEBRITY fans are demanding bosses intervene in camp after claiming shamed MP Matt Hancock is being bullied.
Some have vowed to report the programme to broadcast regulator Ofcom and said the ITV reality show is making them feel uncomfortable.
One posted on Twitter: “Feeling a bit uneasy now watching @MattHancock on @ITV @imacelebrity as its clearly just glorified bullying now.
Another said: “I’ve watched I’m A Celebrity since day one, but I’m struggling to watch this pile of bigoted hate filled bile. You are literally facilitated the bullying and intimidation of a human being. I’m struggling to have any respect for Ant and Dec any more.”
A third vented: “Getting more pathetic and boring each episode and i’m not even watching it,tired of hearing about it, #ImACeleb #itv should be reported to ofcom,this is bullying how is this entertainment, it’s just cruel.”
Senior politician Jacob Rees-Mogg has even waded into the criticism of campmates’ behaviour and the continual voting of Hancock to do Bushtucker Trials.
He told GB News’ Mark Dolan Show that Hancock was “ill-advised” to take part.
He said: “I think the treatment he is getting has gone beyond good fun and become deeply unpleasant. And it rather worries me that people think it is funny to humiliate somebody in this way.
“I think it is a regrettable society side of our culture and I think it’s gone from being, ‘Matt Hancock has gone into the jungle, let’s tease him a bit, to something really rather unpleasant.
“I’m not too comfortable with what is being reported as to the way he’s being treated. I can’t say I’ve ever watched the programme, but I’ve certainly read the newspapers about it. And I think it’s just gone too far and has become unpleasant.”
In last night’s episode Hancock received enough votes from the public to enter a head-to-head with former England rugby star Mike Tindall for control of the campsite.
The former health secretary recruited ITV broadcaster Charlene White, who he has previously clashed with over his breaking of Covid guidance during the pandemic, and they were triumphant in a challenge during which they had to work together to switch on a series of lights.
Before the task, Tindall joked: “If I went home, and I’d lost to Matt Hancock, I’d be in so much s**t.”
Hancock then told White: “We are definitely the underdogs”, before she replied: “Did you go into the leadership challenge thinking you were the underdog?”
The former health secretary has been voted to do six trials in a row.
After their win, Hancock declared: “Obviously, it’s a great honour and privilege to be camp leader. I want to thank everybody who voted for me.”
White asked: “Does this win feel sweet, especially after you lost to Boris? Do you feel like you have been vindicated?”, to which he replied: “This more than makes up for it.”
However, their success prompted soap star Sue Cleaver, Tindall’s would-be deputy, to remark: “We now have a dictatorship…”
Hancock and White were then charged with assigning their campmates to chores while remaining exempt and getting the chance to sleep inside the RV – a step up from the campsite.
Earlier in the episode, Hancock was stung by a scorpion which “unexpectedly” nipped him on the finger. He later told his fellow contestants: “It was so painful… It hurts a lot, and I’m feeling slightly dizzy.”
He was seen by a medic straight away, with TV presenter and property expert Scarlette Douglas later joking in the Bush Telegraph: “He looked like he wanted to cry.”
