Carol Vorderman has furiously clapped back at comments that she 'cosied up' to former MP Matt Hancock as they both headed to Cheltenham Races. The former Countdown star and ex-Health Secretary both headed to the opening day of the annual event on Tuesday (March 14).
Carol took to Instagram to share a look at her outfit for the day, slipping her fabulous figure into a leather skirt and matching corset which she wore over a crisp white shirt. The 62-year-old sported a pair of laced-up heeled boots and accessorised with a black feathered fascinator.
Posting a video to her social media profile, Carol could be seen wiggling her bottom for the cheeky clip before spinning round to reveal her smiling face. "CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL TUESDAY @cheltenhamraces," she captioned the post alongside a string of red hearts.
She also posed for a snap as the sun started to shine at the racecourse, with Carol writing: "CHELTENHAM TUESDAY. We're in and we're off @cheltenhamraces With my buds @jules__sampson and my PA who I call Trouble my beloved a Karen."
Helen Flanagan was quick to respond to Carol's cheeky video, writing: "Stunning." As Loose Women star Katie Piper said: "Love the outfit." Others, meanwhile, were defending the star for her sensational display. @fairhurstrobert wrote: "If you've got it, flaunt it. I always dress up for the races, it's half the fun. Great outfit. If you want to wiggle your booty, why the hell not. Hope you had a lot of fun."
@taycthompson replied: "Never stop carol you look spicy you are empowering women all around the globe." @ian_w_covkid posted: "Very chic!! Gorgeous as always." @georgesinghukkf wrote: "Absolutely fabulous Carol @carolvorders." @mrounweagle added: "Carol, you always look so lovely. That is such a nice outfit."
But many other comments were slamming Carol for reportedly 'cosying up' to Matt Hancock after they were snapped together at Cheltenham Races after she previously shared strong opinions on the I'm A Celebrity finalist. And taking to Twitter after heading back home, the TV and radio star, who was pyjama-clad hit back: "We've had a great day," before saying she had seen stories suggesting she had been getting on with Matt. "OK, I'm going to tell you what happened," she said.
"I'm always a guest at the Jockey Club - I'm at the Cheltenham Races all the time, I go to a lot of meetings there, I go to a lot of racing. I have shares in a horse with the chairman of Cheltenham Races, it's one of my things. So, Michael Dickinson, who is a genius trainer of all time, is a dear friend of mine along with Brendan Foster. We were having lunch, we go to parading - it's a long story, this - and we always go up to the royal box at some point to watch a race.
"We all go up, we're having tea - I was chaufeur because I wasn't drinking - and sandwiches and all that kind of thing. It was Michael, Brendan, some other people from ITV Sport. I love the races, so my friend Jules and I go, 'We're just going out early onto the terrace to watch Honeysuckle.'
"We go out onto the terrace to watch Honeysuckle and the others canting down to the start, which is just glorious and the crowds are like 70,000 people! Jules and I, almost alone on the terrace outside - it's such a set-up - we're there, maybe three other people. It's a big terrace.
"We're looking out at the course... tap on the shoulder - 'Hello, my name's Gina.' And then I turn around and it's Matt Hancock - 'Hello, my name's Matt.' I went, 'Hello, I'm Carol, this is my friend Jules.' What are you meant to do? You're in the royal box. You can't call them a... in the royal box, can you?"
She went on: "So I said, 'Oh Matt, are you into racing?' And they said, not particularly but Matt is, she said, because his constituency is in Newmarket and he's even ridden in a race. Which I thought, oh I didn't know that. So I said, 'Oh, that's interesting because we were at Sandown last week, weren't we Jules?' Where there were amateur jockeys, bla. And I said, 'That's really interesting, we want to watch the race.'
"Then we turn round to watch the course and then he said, 'Oh by the way, thank you.' So I turn around again to be civil. 'By the way, thank you for everything you do with your son about enlightening people about dyslexia. I am dyslexic. La la la. So I said, 'It's very important to me as a mother of a child who had special educational needs that people are aware that you can become very successful in spite of the early studies. It takes them longer for them to get to where they need to be, that's all. They're not incapable, it just takes people longer.'
"And at that point I said, 'By the way, I really want to watch this race.' Turned round and watched the race. Jules and I never spoke abother word again! That's it! Talk about a bloody set-up!"
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