Matt Hancock reveals why he’s decided to go on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
Former health secretary Matt Hancock has said his decision to enter the I’m A Celebrity jungle was driven by a need to “deliver important messages to the masses”.
Mr Hancock has revealed he will be jetting off to the jungle in Australia to appear as a contestant on the popular ITV reality show.
His decision has meant his whip has been removed – effectively expelling him from the Conservative parliamentary party and forcing him to sit as an independent until it is reinstated.
Pic: AP
But he is unbowed, telling The Sun newspaper: “It’s our job as politicians to go to where the people are – not to sit in ivory towers in Westminster.”
The MP, who has been widely mocked on social media and by some colleagues for the move, said producers had asked him twice over the summer if he would appear, but he turned them down.
When, he said, the government was more stable following Liz Truss‘s short-lived stint as PM, he was asked again, and agreed.
He told the paper’s readers: “The truth is, I haven’t lost my marbles or had one too many pina coladas.
“Like you, politicians are human, with hopes and fears, and normal emotions just like everyone else.
“Where better to show the human side of those who make these decisions than with the most watched programme on TV?
“There are those who got their news from brilliant shows like This Morning, Loose Women and Gogglebox. It’s popular TV shows like these – and I’m A Celebrity … of course – that help to deliver important messages to the masses.
“Rather than looking down on reality TV, we should see it for what it is – a powerful tool to get our message heard by younger generations.
“Reality TV is a very different way to communicate with the electorate – it’s both honest and unfiltered.”
Ant and Dec are back hosting the show that has been make or break for a number of celebrities. Pic: ITV
Mr Hancock said that, as someone who had struggled at school with undiagnosed dyslexia, he would be using the platform to widen education about the condition – and would make a donation from his to causes supporting dyslexia and to St Nicholas Hospice in his constituency of Suffolk.
“I want to raise the profile of my dyslexia campaign to help every dyslexic child unleash their potential – even if it means taking an unusual route to get there … via the Australian jungle!
“I’m A Celebrity … is watched by millions of Brits up and down the country.
“I want to use this incredible platform to raise awareness, so no child leaves primary school not knowing if they have dyslexia.”
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Rivka Gottlieb, from the COVID-19 Bereaved Families For Justice group, was not ready to forgive the former health secretary for his handling of the pandemic.
Mr Hancock stepped down after breaching lockdown rules by conducting an affair in his ministerial office with aide Gina Coladangelo.
Ms Gottlieb criticised his decision to appear on the show as “some kind of popularity quest” and of being “not interested in making any amends for the devastation he caused to tens of thousands of families”.
She told Sky News: “He made catastrophic mistake after catastrophic mistake. He has presided over one of the worst death tolls in the COVID pandemic.
“He’s been an absolutely appalling health minister, and now he’s going to abscond from his job as an MP to go off and play in the jungle and self promote.”
Mr Hancock is the bookies’ favourite to do the most bushtucker trials, though his odds to win the competition are significantly slimmer.
The politician will appear alongside pop icon Boy George and ex-rugby player Mike Tindall, who is married to the King’s niece Zara Tindall.
In Mr Hancock’s constituency, Andy Drummond, the deputy chairman of West Suffolk Conservative Association, told the PA news agency: “I’m looking forward to him eating a kangaroo’s penis. Quote me. You can quote me on that.”
Dolly Parton has declared she “ain’t dead yet” after her sister raised concerns about the singer’s health by asking people to pray for her.
“There are just a lot of rumours flying around. But I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was okay,” the 79-year-old singer said in a new two-minute video posted on social media.
“I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me. And I ain’t done working,” she added.
In the footage, captioned “I ain’t dead yet!”, the 9 to 5 singer is seen on a set speaking directly to the camera.
On Tuesday, a Facebook post shared by her sister Freida Parton escalated concerns around Parton’s health when she wrote that she had been “up all night praying for my sister, Dolly”.
Hours later, Freida Parton followed up with a clarification. “I want to clear something up. I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly,” she wrote.
“She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer.”
Dolly Parton during a concert in Nashville, Tennessee, in March. Pic: AP
Last month, Parton postponed her first Las Vegas residency in 32 years, citing “health challenges”.
She was scheduled to perform six shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in December. The dates have been moved to next September
Parton offered her own clarification about her health condition in Wednesday’s video.
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“Everyone thinks that I am sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here! Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease, those of you who seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate,” she continued.
“And I appreciate your prayers because I’m a person of faith. I can always use the prayers for anything and everything.”
Dolly Parton performs with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders in 2023. Pic: Reuters
She also referenced her late husband of nearly 60 years Carl Dean who died earlier this year at the age of 82.
“I want you to know that I’m OK. I’ve got some problems as I’ve mentioned. Back when my husband Carl was very sick, that was for a long time, and then when he passed, I didn’t take care of myself. So I let a lot of things go that I should’ve been taking care of,” she said.
“So anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said: ‘We need to take care of this. We need to take care of that.’ Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, where I’m kind of having a few treatments here and there.”
And in true Parton fashion, she ended with a joke: “I wanted you to know that I’m not dying”.
Dolly Parton’s sister has said that the country singer is “going to be just fine” after worrying fans by asking for prayers.
Freida Parton had asked people for prayers for the Jolene and I Will Always Love You singer on Tuesday.
“Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly. Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately,” Ms Parton wrote in a Facebook post.
“I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been [led] to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me.
“She’s strong, she’s loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine. Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you!”
Parton performs during her concert in Ijsselhallen in Zwolle, Netherlands, in 2007. Pic: AP
After shocked fans took to social media expressing worry about Parton’s health, her sister said in a second post on Wednesday: “I want to clear something up. I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly.
“She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer. It was nothing more than a little sister asking for prayers for her big sister.”
It comes after Parton announced in September that she had to postpone her upcoming Las Vegas residency over “health challenges”.
Dolly Parton performs with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders in 2023. Pic: Reuters
“As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures,” the singer said at the time.
“As I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon!”
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Parton said she was postponing the shows because she is “not going to be able to rehearse and put together the show that I want you to see. You pay good money to see me perform, and I want to be at my best for you”.
The country star was set to perform six shows at Caesars Palace in December, but her performance dates have been moved to September 2026.
“Don’t worry about me quittin’ the business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet,” Parton said as she announced the postponement of her shows. “But I believe he is telling me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you.”
The daughter of late actor Robin Williams has begged people to stop sending her AI-generated “slop” of her father.
“Please, just stop sending me AI videos of Dad,” actor and director Zelda Williams wrote on Instagram on Monday.
“To watch the legacies of real people be condensed down to ‘this vaguely looks and sounds like them so that’s enough’, just so other people can churn out horrible TikTok slop puppeteering them is maddening.”
Zelda Williams arrives in 2024. File pic: AP
She described the videos as “disgusting, over-processed hotdogs” made from the lives of human beings.
“You’re […] shoving them down someone else’s throat hoping they’ll give you a little thumbs up and like it. Gross,” she wrote.
It’s not the first time Williams has written about the impact of people sending her content about her father on social media.
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In 2020, on the anniversary of her father’s death, Williams posted on Instagram saying:
“While I am constantly touched by all of your boundless continued love for him, some days it can feel a bit like being seen as a roadside memorial – a place, not a person – where people drive past and leave their sentiments to then go about their days comforted their love for him was witnessed.”
“But sometimes, that leaves me emotionally buried under a pile of others’ memories instead of my own.”
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The death of Robin Williams in 2014, an actor and comedian known for his quick wit and wisdom, triggered a global outpouring of grief and tributes to the star still frequently surface on social media to this day.
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‘I’ve been turned into an AI announcer’
In 2023, Zelda appealed for the end of AI-generated content, saying in a widely-reported post on Instagram:
“I’ve witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/recreate actors who cannot consent, like Dad. This isn’t theoretical, it is very very real.”
“I’ve already heard AI used to get his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my own feelings.”
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