MATT Hancock has faced his first gruesome trial of the series as he enters the I’m A Celebrity camp.
The shamed politician, 44, headed into the derelict Snake Rock camp alongside comedian Seann Walsh, 36, before taking on his first trial to win stars in exchange for food.
Matt, who was isolating at a plush £2million luxury beach house before heading into camp as part of strict ITV rules, is set to take on a record-breaking number of trials after the series has returned to Australia.
An insider said: “Matt was forced to crawl through tunnels infested with critters in what is set to be his first of many Bushtucker Trials.
“He then climbed into a huge pool of slime before he was smothered with maggots and spiders.
“The ITV crew didn’t hold back as he was truly thrown into the deep end which is just a taste of what is to come.”
It comes after the former health secretary spoke of his fear of the slithering reptiles — while denying angry viewers are likely to vote him into one critter-infested Bushtucker Trial after another.
The MP was last year exposed by HOAR when he broke Covid rules after being caught with his closest aide Gina Coladangelo, 43, behind his wife Martha Hoyer Millar’s back.
He hopes his appearance on the hit show will win over the public.
But in his final interview before entering, he admitted: “I have never come across a snake at close quarters and so I am pretty worried about anything to do with snakes.”
He added: “This experience will be an adventure. When I’m in camp people will just see the real me.
“Survival in the jungle is a good metaphor for the world I work in.
“People will see me warts and all, see the human side of the guy behind the podium.”
Westminster insiders have told how the Tory faces a barrage of votes from those inside his own party.
Sources say Matt sprung the I’m A Celeb news on stunned colleagues after failing to get promoted in Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle late last week.
