The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Hancock’s childhood memories
Matt Hancock has talked about his childhood during a conversation with his I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! campmates.
Viewers have so far voted to keep the former health secretary, 44, in the Australian jungle, after Boy George became the fourth contestant to be eliminated from the show.
The Culture Club singer, 61, was announced as the celebrity with the fewest votes during last night’s programme by hosts Ant Mcpartlin and Declan Donnelly.
During a discussion about generational differences, Hancock spoke about difficulties faced by his family after his parents’ business ran into financial problems when he was a teenager.
He was asked by comedian Seann Walsh: “Did you have the bailiffs round yours Matt?”
The MP for West Suffolk replied: “When the business nearly went bust we nearly lost everything.
“You know when you type your postcode into the internet and it brings up your address? My stepdad wrote that software.
“The business started in ’88 and in the early ’90s is when it nearly went bust.
“We were going to lose the house, both my stepdad and mum were going to lose their jobs. That was pretty harrowing. I was about 14.”
To which Walsh, 36, said: “Bloody hell, kill the vibe Matt.”
Hancock said: “Well you said have you ever had the bailiffs round.”
The conversation started at the creek after actor and comedian Babatunde Aleshe asked Boy George: “What was your dad’s reaction when you made it?”
The Culture Club singer, 61, replied: “I was playing at the Albert Hall and it was kind of a big gig, it was kind of early on and my sister’s best friend’s husband said to my dad, ‘You must be really proud of him?’ My dad goes, ‘Yeah, he does what he does and I do what I do’.”
He added: “Or my mum used to say, ‘You never say you love me’ and he’d say, ‘I’m here aren’t I?”’
Speaking in the Bush Telegraph, Boy George continued: “I think that comment was about, ‘Don’t blow smoke up his a**e because it’s not good for him’.”
Aleshe said: “This generation, all we do is tell our children that we love them.”
He added: “I smother my son. We’re soft but that’s a good thing.”