Matt Hancock has said being voted leader of the I’m A Celebrity campsite “more than makes up for” losing to Boris Johnson in the 2019 Tory Party leadership election.
The 44-year-old MP was among those who threw their hat into the ring to replace Theresa May in Number 10, but withdrew part way through the contest before putting his support behind Mr Johnson.
Sunday’s episode of I’m A Celebrity saw him receive enough votes from the public to enter a head-to-head with former England rugby star Mike Tindall for control of the campsite.
The former health secretary recruited ITV broadcaster Charlene White, who he has previously clashed with over his breaking of COVID-19 guidance during the pandemic, and they were triumphant in a challenge that saw them working together to switch on a series of lights.
Ahead of the task, Tindall joked: “If I went home, and I’d lost to Matt Hancock, I’d be in so much s**t.”
Hancock then told White: “We are definitely the underdogs”, before she replied: “Did you go into the leadership challenge thinking you were the underdog?”
Dictatorship?
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After their win, Hancock declared: “Obviously, it’s a great honour and privilege to be camp leader. I want to thank everybody who voted for me.”
White asked: “Does this win feel sweet, especially after you lost to Boris? Do you feel like you have been vindicated?”, to which he replied: “This more than makes up for it.”
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However, their success prompted soap star Sue Cleaver, Tindall’s would-be deputy, to remark: “We now have a dictatorship…”
Hancock and White were then charged with assigning their campmates to chores while remaining exempt and getting the chance to sleep inside the RV – a step up from the campsite.
Earlier in the episode, Hancock was stung by a scorpion which “unexpectedly” nipped him on the finger. He later told his fellow contestants: “It was so painful… It hurts a lot, and I’m feeling slightly dizzy.”
He was seen by a medic straight away, with TV presenter and property expert Scarlette Douglas later joking in the Bush Telegraph: “He looked like he wanted to cry.”
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‘I’m looking for a little bit of forgiveness,’ says Hancock
Snakes and offal
Hancock was voted to become leader of the campsite after facing his fifth consecutive trial, House of Horrors, in which he had to crawl through a giant doll’s house full of pigeons, snakes and troughs full of offal, searching for stars to feed the camp.
Asked by co-host Declan Donnelly why he thought the public kept voting for him to take part in the gruelling trials, Hancock responded: “It must be the facial expressions.”
Facing his fear of snakes, the Tory MP located nine out of the 11 stars on offer, despite a snake attempting to strike him at eye level.
After returning triumphant to camp, he admitted: “I was absolutely shi**ing myself.”
The episode also saw former England footballer Jill Scott recalling playing football aged five and how her grandmother had predicted her success.
Attwood’s blood test
It comes after former Love Island contestant Olivia Attwood revealed she was forced to withdraw from the show after a routine blood test showed she was anaemic.
The test, which all the contestants undergo randomly throughout the show, also suggested low sodium and potassium levels, prompting staff to immediately take her to hospital.
Attwood, 31, disclosed the reason for her departure after only 24 hours in the Australian jungle in an interview with the Mail On Sunday.
However, she also said her tests at the hospital and back in the UK produced normal results.
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Hancock drenched in slime
A show spokesman said: “As a precautionary measure, Olivia needed to leave the jungle to undergo some medical checks.
“Unfortunately, the medical team has advised it is not safe for Olivia to return to camp as there needs to be further investigation.
“She has been absolutely brilliant, and she’ll be very much missed on the show.”
Gladiator II star Paul Mescal has said bringing Sir Ridley Scott’s legacy sequel to the big screen has been a “wildly… overwhelming” experience.
The star was speaking to Sky News on the red carpet at the film’s royal premiere which was attended by His Majesty the King, who had earlier hosted members of the film and TV industry at a Buckingham Palace reception.
When asked about making the move from indie films, like All Of Us Strangers and Aftersun, into one of the most eagerly anticipated films this year, Mescal said: “I’m excited to play with what the audience is expecting of me.”
“The royal audience is one thing… I think we’ve seen how an audience responded to the film, royal or not, and I think we’re excited for people to see it.”
A whole 24 years after Sir Ridley Scott’s Roman blockbuster starring Russell Crowe, Mescal plays Lucius who, much like the original, finds himself trying to win back his freedom after powerful emperors of Rome conquer his home.
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With an actual-scale model of the Colosseum built for the production, the film comes with high costs and a lot of hype.
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“I’m struggling with words at the moment,” Mescal admitted, taking in the occasion, having come from the champagne reception at Buckingham Palace.
“This has been an absolutely, wildly – I keep using the word overwhelming – but I think if this isn’t slightly overwhelming then I don’t know what the hell is. I’m having a great time.”
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Sir Ridley explained his reason for casting Mescal was that he saw aspects of “a young Albert Finney” in him.
While the pressure is on for the sequel to do well at the box office, the director said he’s learnt how to deal with the weight of expectations over the years.
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“Any film of [this] scale, it doesn’t matter how we play it down, it’s colossally stressful. You better embrace stress or don’t do the job.”
Before heading to the premiere, the King welcomed directors, actors, TV presenters, stunt performers and costume designers at the palace to mark the centenary of the Film and TV Charity, of which Charles has become patron.
Sir Ridley, actor Joseph Fiennes, actress India Amarteifio from the hit Netflix show Queen Charlotte, and TV presenter Claudia Winkleman were among the celebrities who attended the event.
Actor Timothy West has died peacefully in his sleep aged 90, “with his friends and family at the end”.
He was known for many roles in television and the theatre, including popular soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.
Husband to 92-year-old Prunella Scales – who played Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers – the pair travelled together on UK and overseas canals in the Channel 4 series Great Canal Journeys.
His children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West, said in a statement issued by his agent: “After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening. He was 90 years old.
“Tim was with friends and family at the end. He leaves his wife Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years, a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. All of us will miss him terribly.
“We would like to thank the incredible NHS staff at St George’s Hospital, Tooting and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days.”
He was the winner of an RTS television award for his lead role in Churchill And The Generals, released in 1979, according to imdb.com.
In his career, he played Winston Churchill three times, including in The Last Bastion (1984) and in Hiroshima (1995).
West was also nominated for best actor in the 1976 BAFTAs for his part as Edward VII in the historical drama.
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Four years later, he was nominated in the same category for a number of roles, including as best actor in Crime And Punishment.
After a small part as Eric Babbage in Coronation Street in 2013, West appeared in 2014 for the first time as Stan Carter in EastEnders.
He also held other popular TV roles, such as in BBC comedy-drama Last Tango In Halifax.
In the long-running BBC comedy, Not Going Out, he played Geoffrey, the father of Lucy Adams, played by Sally Bretton.
In comedy-drama Brass, he was the ruthless self-made businessman Bradley Hardacre, playing the role from 1982 to 1984 before returning for a third series in 1990.
In 2019, the Bradford-born actor played Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes, a recreation of three missing episodes of the BBC comedy Dad’s Army.
He was also a regular performer of Shakespeare, playing Lear in 2016 and 2002.
An “ultimate” version of Band Aid’s famous festive hit Do They Know It’s Christmas? is set to be released to mark the song’s 40th anniversary, featuring the voices of original singers as well as younger artists.
The track will feature voices from Band Aid 1984 including George Michael, Sting and Boy George, alongside the likes of Harry Styles, Chris Martin, the Sugababes, and Ed Sheeran, who appeared on the Band Aid 20 and Band Aid 30 versions in 2004 and 2014.
It will also feature the vocals of a young Bono, who recorded the song’s famous line – “Well tonight thank God it’s them, instead of you” – singing with his older self.
The singers will be backed by the Band Aid house band of Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Duran Duran’s John Taylor, Phil Collins, Queen’s Roger Taylor, Supergrass’s Danny Goffey, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood, Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Midge Ure, Gary Kemp and Justin Hawkins.
Other voices to feature on the 40th anniversary remix include Sam Smith, Elbow’s Guy Garvey, Rita Ora, Bananarama, Seal, Sinead O’Connor, Robbie Williams, Kool And The Gang and Underworld, with proceeds going to the Band Aid Trust.
And in a new video, the late David Bowie will introduce the song’s stars, with newsreader Michael Buerk’s BBC report on the song also featuring.
The history of Band Aid
Led by Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof and Ultravox’s Ure, the original Band Aid single saw artists join forces in 1984 to help charities working with starving children in Ethiopia.
The song went straight to the top of the charts that year and at the time held the record as the fastest-selling single of all time in the UK, selling a million copies in the first week alone.
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It remained at number one for five weeks and went on to sell more than three million copies.
The movement led to the famous Live Aid concerts around the world the following year, with artists including Queen, Bowie and Sir Elton John performing at Wembley in the UK.
Do They Know It’s Christmas? was released again with different generations of stars over the decades, to raise money for other causes.
In 1989, Stock Aitken and Waterman produced Band Aid II, featuring just two of the artists from the song’s first iteration – Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward of Bananarama.
Band Aid 20 raised funds for Sudan’s Darfur region, while the 30th anniversary supported those helping throughout the 2014 Ebola crisis.
In celebration of this monumental “instrument of change”, producer Trevor Horn has taken the recordings and blended all the voices “into one seamless whole”, organisers said.
The Do They Know It’s Christmas – 2024 Ultimate Mix will premiere on UK breakfast radio and streaming on 25 November, the 40th anniversary of the day artists went into the recording studio to create the original song. It will also be released physically on CD and vinyl on 29 November.
It will feature on a compilation also including the other recordings, plus the Live Aid Wembley 1985 version.
Artist Sir Peter Blake, 93, who designed the original sleeve – featuring a collage of Christmas card images alongside a hungry child – has returned to create the new cover.