Matt Hancock shocked the British public as it was revealed he would be heading into the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! jungle for the latest series.
The disgraced former Health Secretary, 44, grinned as he was photographed landing at Brisbane airport as he hoped to show the 'real' him.
And his appearance on the show has certainly been attention grabbing as a whopping 9.1 million viewers tuned into the show to watch Mr Hancock head into the jungle.
His decision to take part in the series while Parliament was sitting caused anger amongst the public with Charlene White grilling him shortly after he entered camp.
Later, the MP was also grilled about his lockdown rule break by his campmates, as he insisted he "fell in love", which caused him to break the restrictions on mixing households during the pandemic.
Viewers wasted no time in voting for Hancock to take on the gruelling Bushtucker trials, as he undertook six consecutive challenges to win meals for camp.
And many thought as soon as the public vote for who stays and who goes in camp would open, Mr Hancock would be the first to leave camp with his jungle hat in hand.
But, Hancock has surprised many viewers by surviving four public votes so far, which means Charlene White, Scarlette Douglas, Sue Cleaver, Boy George and Babatúndé Aléshé have all left camp before the MP.
Even rockstar Liam Gallagher shared his shock at how Matt has managed to continue in camp as he tweeted: "F**k off love baba Tunde can’t live in a world where T**t Hancock still pulling the wool".
Now, talent agent and PR expert Carla Speight has given her insight into why Mr Hancock is still in the jungle as she tells the Mirror how Mr Hancock has been trying to 'seek atonement' for his lockdown rule break.
Carla tells the Mirror: "I think Matt’s playing a brilliant game, he’s still not let his mask down but the public seem to be dividing in opinion over him which is astounding given how much controversy has surrounded him. He’s been well prepped before he went in, that’s for sure.
"His stoic response to the trials was part of his long game. He must have known he was going to be voted into lots of trials, so the way he approached them without complaint was definitely part of a game. Taking his punishment whilst seeking atonement is definitely the key part of his game.
"Coupled with the reaction of the campmates who keep it civil to his face and not so much when they are away from him, I think his tactics are starting to have his desired effect, there’s a small portion of voter’s opinion of him that is starting to change."
However, the PR expert claims his camp survival could be down to people wanting him to 'suffer'.
"There’s still a huge majority who believe he shouldn’t be there," Carla adds. "Because he’s a serving MP and because of his catastrophic decisions as health minister. They’ll also be voting for him to stay as they want him to suffer.
"Given that he won’t really pay for his actions, in ways that the public would, this is the closest thing they’ll get to serving justice. It’s a bit like the equivalent of putting him in the stocks. A public embarrassment that will make him squirm and have long lasting impacts on his career. There will be many who hope he loses his job as a serving MP at the end of it."
A watchdog has ruled that Hancock's appearance on I'm A Celeb while Parliament is still sitting has broken the Ministerial code.
But, the watchdog has no power to impose a punishment on Hancock – meaning his fate in government is still up in the air.
Despite his hopes to change his public perception, PR expert Carla says his "manipulative tactics" are obvious.
She explains: "His manipulation of the campmates and the general public is impressive, if not for the striking arrogance that’s driving it. It less of a real journey that the other campmates go through and more a finely plotted plan towards his desired destination of the public forgiving him and getting behind him.
"He’s not being subtle with his manipulative tactics. He’s leaned on campmates telling them he’s there for forgiveness, whilst prior to that he was observing who would be the most effective person to tell that, too.
"After hearing Charlene’s story it was an obvious choice, she’s a mother figure and he knew exactly how to use that.
"A more recent example of his manipulation, was last night, when the volunteered for the trials he said to the campmates, 'I’ll put my name in for another trial, but appreciate I’ve done six.' Which was in stark contrast to the Bush Telegraph when he announced 'the funny thing is about the trials, I keep offering and my campmates are like "no don’t worry somebody else will handle it", so that’s fine by me'.
"He knows exactly what he’s doing, he’s not out of touch, not a broken man seeking forgiveness, he thinks he’s a master manipulator."
Carla adds that despite his attempts to gain the forgiveness of the public, he has made one big mistake during his jungle stint.
She says: "He’s also pivoting his way through every opportunity he's had to face his mistakes and own them entirely.
"He's even pivoted round showing us the real and human Matt Hancock, which I think is a mistake that offers a huge flaw in his plan. The public are not stupid and he shouldn’t treat them that way, yet he’s doing just that."
And while Mr Hancock has dodged the walk over the jungle bridge thus far – the expert says his chances of becoming King of the Jungle are slim.
"Matt's well prepped long game approach, could see him in the final even if by accident," she says. "But I doubt he would win. The majority of the audience dislike him and can see through his manipulation and pivoting.
"No game or tactics are good enough to bring him back from what he’s done and offer any real justice to the victims of covid 19 that he failed to consider in his decision making, let alone actually protect them."
And it seems others agree as Mr Hancock's odds of taking the jungle crown are currently at 15-2, according to William Hill.
