A whopping 9.1million viewers tuned in to watch Matt Hancock make his controversial arrival into the I'm A Celebrity camp last night.
Ratings soared as the nation watched the disgraced MP be deluged in slime and creepy crawlies in his first Bushtucker Trial alongside Seann Walsh.
Hancock's signing has proved to be a huge hit for ITV, who have seen a surge in viewing figures as the show returns to Australia.
During its peak, 9.1million watched with bated breath as Hancock headed into the jungle. Overall the episode averaged 7.9m viewers - up on last year's episode by 2.1m.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, 7.8million tuned in with a peak of 8.8million, after the launch show saw a peak of 10.3million viewers.
The return to Oz has proved a win with fans, with the show nearly a million viewers compared to the 2021 launch in Wales.
It comes as viewers have decided to take their sweet revenge on Hancock who will take on Tentacles of Terror.
The nation voted for the former health secretary to do his second Bushtucker trial after watching him be deluged in slime and creepy crawlies.
It comes as hundreds of MPs and peers have downloaded the 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!' app to vote for Hancock to do Bushtucker trials, a top Tory has said.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris suggested that politicians were getting their own back on the shamed former Health Secretary by nominating him for challenges on the hit ITV reality show.
Mr Heaton-Harris told TimesRadio: “There are hundreds of MPs and peers who have managed to – probably for the first time in some peers’ life – download an app to vote for somebody.
“So I’m assuming that doesn’t mean great things for Matt.”
Hancock has come under fire for abandoning his constituents to swan off to Australia for the show.
The Tory party suspended the whip after the news broke of his jungle stint, which means he now sits as an independent MP.
Tonight viewers will watch as he is trapped in a cage that is slowly sinking as he's tasked with collecting stars.
In a teaser clip from this evening's show, Hancock submerges himself under water to dip his hand into various compartments, one of which includes a cage of tiny crocodiles, to grab stars.
As Hancock breaks the surface, he holds up a star and gasps in breaths of air as he clings onto the cage for dear life. The cage then lowers again as Dec says: "Good going this - down we go again. Your air hole gets smaller."
"What did you call him?" Ant asks.
"Air hole," Dec replies as Ant laughs and the pair grin at the camera.
- I'm A Celebrity continues on ITV at 9pm.
