I'm A Celeb's Matt Hancock says public are 'fantastic' with him and beg for selfies

Matt Hancock has claimed the public are “generally fantastic” with him and often ask him for selfies.

The MP, 44, has faced a huge backlash, both online and from his fellow I’m A Celebrity campmates, after he made his debut on the ITV show this week.

But the former Health Secretary, who was suspended by the Tory Party for signing up for the reality programme, recently insisted he often has positive encounters with the public.

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Asked if it is a pleasant experience when he takes the Tube, he said: “It’s great, actually. The public are generally fantastic.

“I was on the Tube recently and somebody asked for a selfie. She was actually surreptitiously taking a photo of me. Well, it wasn’t that surreptitious because it was really obvious.

“I caught her eye and said, ‘I hope you’re OK.’ And she said, ‘Oh, can I have a selfie? I was too embarrassed to ask.’ “

But Mr Hancock couldn’t resist a dig at Tube workers.

Speaking to The Speakeasy podcast in June, he added: “The Tube is brilliant, when it’s not on strike.”

Mr Hancock also recently claimed he “absolutely loves” working in his West Suffolk constituency, despite now abandoning them for weeks to appear in the jungle-based reality show.

Asked what the most important thing he’s learnt about himself in the previous 12 months, he told The Freedom Pact podcast in April: “I’d say it’s definitely not to be in a hurry. That’s the number one thing, without doubt.

“I’ve had a lot more time on my hands, obviously, and I’ve spent a lot more time in my constituency, and I absolutely love that job.

“I’ve always worked very hard and I’ve always been pushing, and now I’ve got a bit more time to not be in such a rush.”

Whatever people’s opinions of him as a person or a failed Health Secretary, Hancock’s arrival on I’m A Celebrity was a ratings smash for ITV. A peak of 9.1million watched his entrance to camp, which was up 2.1m on the same show last year.

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Mr Hancock admitted that while he doesn’t enjoy being “personally criticised”, he accepts it comes with the territory of being an MP.

Asked why he chooses to put himself in a position, as an MP, where he faces criticism and hate, he said: “That’s easy and it’s been really highlighted with what’s going on in Ukraine and Russia.

“That’s that the way that we, as a democracy, move things forward is by having a big debate about it. And part of that debate is to have a row sometimes, and sometimes everyone agrees, which doesn’t happen very often, but there’s other times when things are highly contentious. And in a democracy you have a big row about it.

“Inevitably, the people who have big voices in that debate get criticised. I don’t like the personal criticism, but it comes with the territory.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk