It’s finally happened – Matt Hancock has entered the I’m A Celebrity jungle and the reactions from his fellow famous campmates were predictably mad.
The politician is arguably the most controversial contestant to ever appear on the ITV reality show, and has even been suspended from his day job as an MP over it.
He entered the camp last night alongside Seann Walsh.
Seann, who is also quite a controversial character after that Strictly kiss scandal, managed to fly under the radar as all disbelieving eyes turned to the former Health Secretary.
A thousand memes were born out of last night’s episode, which saw Hancock singing Ed Sheeran, crawling through bugs, and undergoing secret ‘mole’ missions.
But the thing everyone tuned in to watch was how the other celebs would react to their new campmates, which ranged from complete fits of the giggles to shock to genuine upset.
Safe to say, Matt was quickly challenged by the contestants, who questioned what on earth he was doing there and whether he should really have stepped away from his political duties.
ADVERTISEMENT
One particularly noteworthy reaction came from Boy George, who explained that his family were effected by the Covid restrictions brought in during Hancock’s time as Health Secretary.
The legendary pop star, visibly upset, said: “Beginning of the pandemic my mum was in hospital. I wasn’t allowed to see her. I thought she was going to die.”
He continued: “I feel like, I don’t want to be sitting here like I’m having fun with him. It’s difficult for me because, you know, had something happened, if my mum had gone, I wouldn’t be here now. I would have gone when he walked in.”
He was later comforted by Corrie star Sue Cleaver, who said: “I think just sleep on it for tonight. Look, why he came in and what he’s doing here, it’s not our responsibility and it’s not for us to take on.”
Sue, who barely made eye contact with Matt when he entered the camp, told the diary room: “I think if I’m honest that most of us are feeling it’s a very strange situation to be in.”
Comedia Babatunde echoed Boy George’s valid concerns, saying: “It’s hard to kind of push your views aside, because of the many people whose lives have been affected.”
On a lighter note, Seann Walsh’s knee-jerk response to Matt’s arrival was hilarious and quickly went viral – the comedian doubled over laughing in Matt’s face.
When he tried to explain his feelings to the diary room later, he couldn’t even finish Matt Hancock’s name without bursting out laughing, leading to a lovely ‘Matt Hahahahahahancock’ moment.
ADVERTISEMENT
Chris Moyles, meanwhile, told the cameras: “Oh my god. Two new people have arrived. One of them is Seann Walsh, and the other… I’ve gotta go back and double-check.”
He later said: “I can’t help but think ‘he should be at work’.”
Journalist Charlene White, who directly quizzed Matt on his decision to join the show, said privately: “Oh my god this is going to make things so difficult for me. I can only imagine how this has gone down at home. I can imagine that this hasn’t gone down well.”
And Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner? He didn’t have a clue who Matt Hancock was. So that’s that.
New Hairy Bikers documentary to take viewers on ’emotional journey’ in tribute to Dave Myers
Emily Sergeant
A new documentary paying an emotional tribute to late Hairy Biker Dave Myers is set to air on the BBC in the run up to Christmas.
Dave Myers – who was most well-known for being one half of the famous Hairy Bikers duo that starred in the BBC cookery and travel show of the same name, alongside Si King – died earlier this year (28 February 2024) after revealing back in May 2022 that he had been diagnosed with cancer, and was undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
The final Hairy Bikers episode aired on 19 March following Dave’s passing, and viewers tuned in in their tens of thousands to watch the beloved show that had been entertaining the masses for close to two decades.
🏍️ Si King celebrates the life of fellow Hairy Biker and best friend Dave Myers in a special one-off BBC documentary
Si picks out key moments from the past 25 years of the pair's TV careers in The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone
But despite that being the final episode with Dave involved, there’s still one last chapter left to tell.
Set to air on BBC Two on Monday 23 December, viewers will be invited on an “emotional journey” through the Hairy Bikers story with Si King, as he celebrates the life of his best mate and former TV partner.
The documentary follows Si as he leads a motorcycle convoy to Dave’s hometown of Barrow-in-Furness, while archive material, new interviews, and previously-unseen footage is shown to help celebrate Dave’s life.
A new Hairy Bikers documentary will take viewers on an ’emotional journey’ in tribute to Dave Myers / Credit: BBC / South Shore Productions
You can relive the journey that took Dave around the world while cooking up a storm as one of television’s greatest-ever double acts.
“I’m incredibly proud of the programme because it’s a tribute to my best mate,” Si King said.
“It was an amazing experience, I didn’t quite know what to expect. That was the whole thing, none of us did. We thought at the most we’d get 10,000 bikes, we didn’t dream it would be 46,000 motorcycles and a 30-mile tail, it was just insane. I just felt enormously privileged.”
Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone will air on BBC Two on Monday 23 December at 9pm, and will also be available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Featured Image – BBC
TV & Showbiz
Snoop Dogg says he wants to replace Gregg Wallace on MasterChef – and so do we
Danny Jones
With Gregg Wallace having been axed from MasterChef, one man has put himself forward to replace the long-standing presenter: Snoop Dogg.
Make that Snoop ‘Doggy’ Dogg, esquire and all-round foodie fancy pants, to you.
No, as we often feel we have to clarify sometimes, we’re not joking – the rapper and hip-hop legend apparently is very keen on the idea of becoming the next co-host of UK MasterChef.
It also goes without saying that we will never EVER get bored of writing headlines like these.
Credit: The Martha Stewart Show/BBC
Speaking to The Mirror, the 53-year-old music icon said, “You’ll best believe You better believe Snoop could be the new MasterChef judge.”
According to Snoop, his time working on Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party with well-known American cook, food writer and TV personality Martha Stewart means he already has prior experience and he also believes he has the backing of another big culinary name.
“My boy Gordon [Ramsay] judges on the US version of the show, and I know he would back me to be able to judge on the UK version”, he told the outlet, going on to add: “He knows I am not playing when it comes to food. He knows I can cook – I have even given him some tips.
“I hosted a cooking show over here and I have always been vocal about wanting to work on a UK show. I love the place – and for real, this could be the perfect opportunity.”
His bid to join the BBC show might be less likely than many others, but we’ve already seen how well getting familiar entertainment faces on works for the Celebrity version of the show, not to mention juicing up the comedy with less serious analysis as seen on Channel 4’s rebrand of The Great British Bake Off.
You can see a selection of Snoop’s on-screen cooking highlights here.
As for the latest on Wallace, he is still officially denying being involved in any inappropriate behaviour of a sexual nature on the show and various other TV projects, with a total of 13 people filing official historical complaints against the long-standing host over the course of a 17-year period.
The 60-year-old is now accused not only of sexual comments in the workplace but groping and touching multiple former contestants and colleagues.
Despite sticking to his official position he has, however, come out to apologise for a response video he made following the second raft of allegations, in which his comments were deemed offensive and misogynistic by a Downing Street official.
We’re confident we already know the answer, so we’ll ask you this instead: just how much do you want to see Snoop Dogg presenting the next series of MasterChef?
Daisy Jackson -
10th November 2022 
