Carol Vorderman has denied that she and former Health Secretary Matt Hancock are pals.
The 62-year-old Countdown host is a strong critic of the politician, having previously referred to him as a “c**k” and routinely criticising the government’s handling of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Carol recently expressed her thoughts on the WhatsApp texts revealed by Hancock’s ghostwriter for his Pandemic Diaries book, calling them “arrogant” and “egotistical.”
It appeared like the couple were unlikely to be friends until last week, when a photo showed them looking to be having a pleasant discussion and laughing together at Cheltenham Races surfaced.
Carol is seen smiling as she chats to Hancock and Gina Coladangelo, whom he was photographed kissing in his office, thereby breaching his own social distance guidelines, which led to his departure.
Carol had already went to social media to inform supporters that she was watching the action from the royal box when she received a tap on the shoulder from Gina and Hancock. Not wanting to be disrespectful, Carol introduced herself and had a brief talk.
But, it’s conceivable that not everyone heard the explanation, since Carol was asked about the conversation by Jodie Gibson on This Morning and emphasised once again that they were not friends.
‘We saw you with Matt Hancock,’ Jodie began, as Carol gave a loud, exasperated sigh, and said: ‘I wasn’t with Matt Hancock.’
Asked by fellow guest, jockey AP McCoy, if she was ‘trying to defend yourself,’ Carol agreed: ‘Yes, I am!’
With a laugh, she added: ‘I was watching Honeysuckle with my mate Jules, tap on the shoulder, “Hello I’m Gina, hello I’m Matt,” 90 second conversation, turned around and watched the race.
‘That’s it! There happened to be a photographer there and there we are.’
Carol had previously voiced her frustration to followers in a video after being accused of hypocrisy for speaking with the politician.
She asked: ‘‘What are you meant to do? You’re in the royal box, you can’t call them a [blank] in the royal box can you?’
She informed them she wanted to watch the race after a few words, turned around, and ‘never uttered another word again.’
‘That’s it, talk about a bloody set up,’ she said.
‘I mean what are you meant to do? I was brought up to be polite, just as I am to 500 or 600 people who ask for selfies every at Cheltenham’.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV