MATT HANCOCK yelped in pain and was rushed to see a medic after he was bitten by a venomous scorpion in the I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! camp.
The politician, 44, who is set to face his fifth Bushtucker Trial tonight, was nipped on his finger by the creature – believed to be a native Australian black rock scorpion.
Members of the ITV crew managed to find the scorpion and safely remove it from the camp before it made its way to the other celebrities, HOAR can reveal.
A TV insider said: “Matt was in agony and described how it was twice as painful as a bee sting.
“Luckily it wasn’t poisonous and Matt is absolutely fine but it was still a nasty bite.
“These scorpions are seen throughout the jungle and the celebrities have been warned to keep an eye out to avoid painful stings.”
It comes after his fellow campmate Babatunde Aléshé, 36, asked Matt how he was feeling following the gruesome bite when it was announced the MP would be taking on another trial.
Speaking at the end of last night’s show, the comedian said: “Do you know what Matt? You are the man, you are the man!
“Four trials and you got stung by a scorpion and you have to go do a trial.”
Black rock scorpions are a reddish brown colour and are found in shallow burrows in forests and woodland throughout eastern Australia including New South Wales where the I’m A Celeb camp is based.
Their sting causes redness and swelling along with a burning or stinging sensation but it is mostly harmless.
It comes as Matt is set to take on the House of Horrors trial tonight which normally involves closed spaces, a terrifying zip line and large stone tombs that have been put around the surroundings.
Matt will have to work his way through a series of obstacle courses which saw The Chase star Anne Hegerty say, “I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here,” in 2018.
