CHEATING Matt Hancock has told his I’m A Celebrity campmates about his lockdown-busting affair — prompting Babatunde Aleshe to say: “You were grabbing booty, bruv.”
The disgraced MP opened up about being forced to quit as Health Secretary last year when HOAR exposed his Covid rules-breaking affair with aide Gina Coladangelo.
Matt, 44, told comedian Babatunde: “I messed up and I ’fessed up. I resigned and it’s no excuse but I fell in love, right?
“That also had a lot of other consequences, obviously.”
The comic, 36, told him: “You didn’t just ‘fell in love’, you were grabbing booty, bruv.”
The exchange came with the I’m A Celebrity camp in crisis over the politician’s arrival.
A source on the ITV show said there have been “pretty hostile” moments and some big names have discussed potentially quitting.
Bosses hoping their controversial £400,000 signing pays off have watched nervously as their cast interacts with the West Suffolk MP, who has lost the Tory whip for going on the show.
The show source said: “There have been real moments of tension and it’s been pretty hostile at times. Other stars have tried to just make a joke out of Matt being there.
“Sometimes you forget that the celebrities are real people with their own emotions and opinions on public figures and that’s just been so clear to see in camp.
“They’re all trying to navigate how to deal with their own feelings about Matt and what he did in the pandemic.
“A few have talked about leaving, I suppose making a stand over it. Conflicted is probably the best way to describe it.”
The source declined to mention which stars had considered walking.
But the celebrities fear the programme will become “the Matt show” as angry viewers vote to subject him to Bushtucker Trials.
The camp worker also revealed that crew members have been fascinated to see Corrie star Sue Cleaver, 59, who is also a trained psychotherapist, use those skills to try to help the others work through their emotions.
The source said: “There’s been talk about it becoming the Matt show. Obviously, they all want a fair share of airtime.
“Then we’ve seen Sue who is clearly very p****d off but basically putting on her therapist hat to try and ease tension. In some ways it’s been fascinating to watch.”
“Then we’ve seen Sue who is clearly very p****d off but basically putting on her therapist hat to try to ease tension. In some ways, it’s been fascinating to watch.”
On last night’s show, some of the campmates discussed how they were feeling about Matt.
Comic Seann Walsh, 36, said: “That man will have a very different account of what he did to what we all think happened and there will be reasons.
“I’m not justifying anything that that guy did or certainly what that government, the decisions they’ve made, but f*** being in his job when that was going on.”
Sue replied: “I totally, totally agree with you but the choice after everything that happened and the impact on everybody at home and families and people in (care) homes to make a choice to come into I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! does not sit well with me.
“He’s got constituents back at home. He’s a serving member of Parliament.”
Later, Scarlette Douglas, 32, told the MP: “It was hard. A lot of people had difficult times. And then to see that people that had kind of set the rules had then broken them, I think was a big slap in the face for everyone.”
Matt said: “Look, I know how people felt. That’s why I resigned, right? I know how people felt and so good on you for saying that.”
He continued to face the wrath of the public with his latest Bushtucker Trial, Tentacles of Terror.
It saw him submerged in water in a giant octopus-shaped cage — which hosts Ant and Dec said would be home to various critters.
When Matt said he was concerned about snakes, Ant said: “You must have met a few snakes in your time in Westminster.”
