The I’m A Celebrity contestant Babatunde Aléshé admitted that Matt Hancock ‘surprised’ him the most in the jungle.
The disgraced former health secretary, whose involvement on the ITV hit series has drawn harsh criticism, has survived yet another vote by the general public.
As the MP, Mike Tindall, Owen Warner, and Jill Scott competed to be proclaimed King or Queen of the Jungle, comedian Babatunde became the sixth competitor to be kicked out of camp on Thursday.
On Friday’s This Morning with hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, Babatunde reflected on his time in Australia and discussed his’surprising’ bond with Hancock.
Dermot asked him: ‘Who surprised you the most in the jungle?’
Babatunde responded instantly: ‘Matt Hancock surprised me. He definitely surprise me and the way we bonded after a while was definitely surprising.’
Babatunde explained they bonded over ‘being fathers’ and alluded to Hancock’s relationship with his former aide Gina Coladangelo, saying he was ‘coming out of a hard relationship.’
Hancock was forced to resign as the UK’s health boss when he was captured breaking his own social distancing rules while in a tryst with Coladangelo during the coronavirus pandemic.
However, despite Hancock confessing he’d hoped his I’m A Celeb stint would get him ‘forgiveness’ over how he handled the Covid crisis if he wins he’s still only ‘destined for Wetherspoon’s’, according to a reputation specialist.
Alex Andrew from The PHA Group told Metro.co.uk: ‘‘With the odds and the country stacked against his win, it’s unlikely Hancock will reach the final of I’m A Celebrity, but so far, he has done well to deceive the public as to his true character with empty apologies and pre-planned responses,’ he says.
‘If he did win the show, it would project his reputation and translucent celebrity status in the right direction for club-night guest appearances and DJ slots in Wetherspoons but do little for West Suffolk residents.’
Meanwhile, Lioness Jill is currently the bookies’ favourite to be crowned champion of I’m A Celeb, with Owen tipped to be runner-up.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
