Politicians such as Matt Hancock and John Bercow may be dabbling in reality television, but Sir Chris Whitty has declined all offers.
And, as you might think, he’s not interested in Naked Attraction.
The Chief Medical Officer, who became a household figure during the lockdown, was challenged about the racy dating show on This Morning by Josie Gibson and Alison Hammond.
The grinning presenters couldn’t help but ask Sir Chris whether he intended to follow Hancock’s example, since the former health minister currently stars on SAS: Who Dares Wins after finishing third on I’m A Celebrity.
Sir Chris spoke on the ITV afternoon show to discuss the new smoking and vaping rules, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak introduced yesterday.
However, the talk quickly shifted to a subject that Sir Chris had not anticipated.
‘We’ve got to talk about Matt Hancock,’ Josie began, with Alison agreeing: ‘Oh yeah, Matt Hancock in SAS, he’s amazing in that, would you ever consider doing something like that? Or maybe Strictly Come Dancing?’
Sir Chris replied: ‘If I’m at one end of enjoying publicity, Mr Hancock is at the other.’
When Josie quipped, ‘Naked Attraction?’ he stayed utterly mute.
She continued naming other shows on which politicians had appeared, including I’m A Celebrity, while he shook his head.
‘Not for me, that’s for sure,’ Sir Chris replied.
Clearly trying to move on from the awkward topic, he went back to the real issue at hand, saying: ‘It’s been a real pleasure, I’m really pleased to be able to talk about the smoking and vaping – it’s such an important issue.’
Later, Alison and Josie couldn’t stop laughing at their line of questions.
‘What about you with Naked Attraction?’ Alison laughed. ‘It’s so funny! You’re so hilarious!’
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1, while Naked Attraction is available to watch on All4.