Matt Hancock has placed third on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.
The Tory MP found themselves narrowly missing out on a place in the final of the ITV jungle show, leaving the two other campmates to fight it out to be crowned King or Queen of the Jungle. As they bid their goodbyes, they headed up to chat to the show's hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly about their experience on the programme.
They managed three weeks in the jungle, beating the likes of Boy George, Mike Tindall and Chris Moyles to make it to the top three.
"Did I really say that?" he said as he watched his jungle highlights. When they referenced his decision to join the show, Matt insisted he wanted to "show what he was like as a person" as he said people had "preconceived ideas" of him.
He added: "Politicians don't come across as human enough and I wanted to show who I am." Matt also admitted he was nervous to head into the jungle - but praised Seann Walsh for his "wonderful" welcome. He was also happy the comedian laughed at all his jokes.
"People think they know me, but they only know me from the TV and the media," he told hosts Ant and Dec.
Matt said he was expecting the "grilling" from campmates - but said some of them were very "emotional". He said there was no "agro" just discussions, as the campmates seemed to "draw a line" between him as a politician and him as a person.
"I know it was controversial me coming here," he said, responding to the backlash of him coming on the show but he was determined to show the two sides of him as he bid farewell to Ant and Dec and rushed to see his girlfriend Gina on the bridge.
Of course Hancock will not have been told about the backlash from viewers over him being signed up for the show, nor will he know about the thousands of Ofcom complaints over him staying on the series. Despite predictions he would leave straight away, he made it all the way to the end which didn't go down well with the majority of viewers.
It comes after all three of the finalists - Owen, Jill and Matt - shared their shock at making it to the top three.
Owen had said of his experience so far, as he expressed his excitement at getting to see his family again: "I’m in the final baby! What is going on? I don’t know what to say, I don’t know what to think... I want to speak to my mum.”
Lioness Jill was also surprised to make it so far, admitting it "meant the world".
"When I first stepped into the jungle and looked around at all of the celebrities, no way am I getting anywhere near that final. To be part of the final three with Owen and Matt, god, it just means the world, it really does," she said.
Hancock, meanwhile, said he was so "grateful" to make it into the show's final.
"I can’t believe I’m in the final. It’s brilliant… I’m just so grateful," he said, but angry fans accused him of being 'fake' with his comments.
The show returned to Australia this year for the first time in three years owing to the coronavirus pandemic. The show had to be held in a castle in North Wales amid the pandemic which halted travelling between different countries, with Giovanna Fletcher and Danny Miller being crowned Queen and King of the Jungle respectively across the two UK-based series.
I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! is available to watch now on ITVX.
