I made a mistake, I fell in love with someone... I’m doing this for a bit of forgiveness
After forcing down fish eyes, a confession from Hancock...
HE was seen eating some of the least appetising of animal parts in last night’s infamous eating challenge.
And Matt Hancock admitted he was putting himself through the gruesome Bushtucker Trials on I’m A Celebrity for ‘ a bit of forgiveness’.
The former health secretary, 44, nearly cried as he admitted he made ‘a pretty big’ mistake when he was caught breaching social distancing and kissing his former aide Gina Coladangelo in his ministerial office last year.
He told his jungle campmates it was ‘only respectful to give completely straight and truthful answers’ as they grilled him on pandemic-related questions ‘ that the public have got as well’.
Asked why he broke his own guidance, the MP responded: ‘Because it was a mistake, because I fell in love with somebody.’
Mr Hancock added that knowing families were unable to visit their loved ones in hospital or sit with each other at funerals was ‘one of the rea
‘Straight and truthful answers’
sons that I regret it as much as I do’. He continued: ‘Do you know what it is actually, what I’m really looking for is a bit of forgiveness, that’s what I’m really looking for. We all make mistakes. I made a pretty big one.’
But the former Tory frontbencher said he was ‘much more robust’ in his defence of his handling of the pandemic ‘as a whole’, blaming ‘the virus’ for problems that arose.
‘So PPE for instance, I know, of course I saw what happened to it, but that’s because we suddenly needed masses more PPE and so did everybody else in the world,’ he said.
‘And care homes... There were reasons for the decisions that were taken and ultimately those problems were caused by the virus, not the people who were trying to solve the problem.’
Loose Women panellist Charlene White, who had told Mr Hancock how her family had to sit alone at her aunt’s funeral, said: ‘ That was not what I was expecting at all.’
Coronation Street actress Sue Cleaver added: ‘ The humanness has come out now... that took balls, Matt, to say that.’
But not everyone was convinced by the Mr Hancock’s confession, with DJ Chris Moyles saying: ‘I wanted to go, Forgiveness for what, Matt? What are you sorry for? Are you sorry for being caught? Are you sorry for having an affair? Are you sorry for making bad decisions? Are you sorry for lying? What? What?’
Earlier in last night’s episode Mr Hancock couldn’t mask his disgust as he took on the La Cucaracha Cafe challenge alongside Boy George, 61, who threatened to quit the show earlier this week after the politician arrived in camp.
A TV insider said that the father-of-three, who has now completed three trials in as many days, was chosen by the public in their thousands to take on the show’s infamous eating contest.
To win the 11 stars needed for the camp’s dinner, the pair each ate six revolting dishes with Mr Hancock munching down on fish- eye tacos, blended meal worms, witchetty grub, a sheep’s vagina, a cow’s anus and cockroaches.