Matt Hancock's floundering showbiz career hits speed bump as he dumps agent search

Matt Hancock has called off his search for a celebrity agent as his bid for fame flounders.

The disgraced former health secretary held discussions with showbiz pals on who should represent him as he seeks to cash in on his notoriety.

But now he has abandoned his search for an agent amid signs his star power has already faded.

Mr Hancock got to the final of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, finishing in third place.

But his short-lived telly popularity has not translated into sales of his book on the pandemic, which only shifted a few thousand copies.

Friends of Mr Hancock say he was hoping to follow the path of former Labour MP Ed Balls, who has become a TV personality following his stint on Strictly Come Dancing.

The MP ducked his duties to his constituents and instead jetted abroad to star in a reality TV show (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

But even his allies now admit it is looking “unlikely” the former Tory health secretary will ever achieve national treasure status.

The Mirror revealed earlier this month that Mr Hancock wanted to start a TV career after being given the boot by his own party.

He has suggested he could become a host of documentaries on subjects including dyslexia and assisted dying.

The cheating Tory resigned after he was caught kissing aide Gina Coladangelo (The Sun)

He is now in a relationship with Gina, who joined him as he left the jungle (James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Mr Hancock was stripped of the Tory whip in November after he abandoned his constituents to join ITV's I'm a Celebrity. He is thought to have earned a fee of around £400,000 for going on the show.

Next year he will appear on Channel 4 ’s Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, which has already been recorded in Vietnam. He take in £45,000 for taking part in the programme, which he filmed before heading to Australia to enter the jungle.

Mr Hancock announced earlier this month he will step down as an MP at the next election after senior figures in the local Tory association in his West Suffolk constituency warned they no longer wanted him to represent them.

Sales of the book proved an embarrassment for the wannabe celebrity (James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Matt Hancock's Pandemic Diaries: The Inside Story of Britain's Battle Against Covid entered the Neilsen book charts at number 191 earlier this month.

It has since plummeted out of the top 1,000. Released in time for Christmas, official sales figures show it sold 3,304 copies in the first week and just 600 in the second.

A spokesman for Mr Hancock last night said: "Matt has had lots of offers from agents wanting to represent him, but he's turned them all down as he doesn't want or need an agent."