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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Dave Burke

Matt Hancock got £10,000 for TV interview where he denied doing I'm A Celeb for cash

Shamed former Health Secretary Matt Hancock trousered a whopping £10,000 for a humiliating interview on Good Morning Britain, it has emerged.

The MP, who had the Tory whip withdrawn after he jetted across the world to take part in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, received the huge sum via a talent management firm.

It followed a widely-mocked appearance on the morning show in January - his first TV interview after leaving the jungle.

Mr Hancock was savaged by hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley over the £320,000 he received for appearing on I'm A Celeb - of which he donated £10,000 to charity.

The latest register of members' interests, published today, reveal Mr Hancock netted the same amount - £10,000 - for the GMB interview.

He also picked up £1,600 for recording an audio book - the latest in a series of payments outside his regular work as an MP in recent months.

Matt Hancock was paid a massive £10,000 for a humiliating appearance on GMB earlier this year (ITV)

During the uncomfortable grilling, Mr Hancock insisted he didn't "primarily" go on I'm A Celeb for the money, and he said the 3% he'd given to charity was a "decent sum".

Ms Reid was having none of it, however, telling him: You gave £10,000 out of £330,000, why not give all of it to charity?"

She then continued: "Couldn't they have benefitted from more of your fee rather than £10,000 out of a quarter of a million?"

Elsewhere he faced a bruising series of questions over his resignation for resignation for breaking social distancing rules by kissing aide Gina Coladangelo at work.

Susanna Reid said: "Can we focus first on the reason that you left. And that was the embrace with your lover. Lots of people find it completely astonishing that you could stand at the podium month after month telling people to stick to the rules.

"But for some reason they didn't apply to you. Why not?"

It was his first TV interview since leaving the jungle (ITV)

Mr Hancock stammered: "I'm only human."

But the GMB host replied: "Sorry, the whole country's only human Mr Hancock."

He pleaded: "This is what I asked for forgiveness in the jungle for.

"I'm human. I've described in my book what happened and how it happened right at the end of the pandemic. But that isn't an excuse and that's why I've been open about it I suppose. We all have our frailties and I fell in love."

Ms Reid pointed out that people had been fined and been sent to prison for breaking the rules but he had not faced either of those penalties.

She added: "People find it remarkable that you got away with doing something that most people weren't allowed to do."

Susanna Reid savaged Mr Hancock in the car-crash interview (ITV)

Mr Hancock said: "It doesn't feel like I got away with it Susanna. Of course it wasn't breaking the law because the legal rules weren't in place. That's why I wasn't fined."

The wannabe TV star - who will not stand again as an MP - has previously declared the £320,000 he picked up for appearing in the jungle.

He has also declared a £45,000 fee for appearing on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, which was filmed in September and October last year.

In January Mr Hancock received £48,000 from Biteback Publishing for an interview and serialisation of his book in the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, the register shows.

He also picked up £1,600 in March from audio book publisher WF Howes Ltd for recording an audio book.

His GMB fee was paid via Shine Talent Management Limited, the register reveals.

The Mirror has contacted Mr Hancock's representatives and ITV for comment.

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