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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Daniel Bird

Matt Hancock's girlfriend Gina says MP 'underestimated reaction' to I'm A Celebrity stint

Matt Hancock's girlfriend Gina Coladangelo has spoken about his time on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! with the former Health Secretary "underestimating" the scale of the show.

The disgraced MP sent shockwaves across the nation when he was a latecomer on the show, joining comedian Seann Walsh.

Hancock, 44, faced harsh criticism from members of the public as well as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for abandoning his parliamentary duties to take part in the reality show.

But the disgraced MP opened up in the jungle, telling Charlene White he was hoping for a small amount of forgiveness after breaching his own coronavirus rules.

Matt Hancock has reflected on his I'm A Celebrity stint (Tim Merry / Daily Star)
In the coming out show, Gina claimed Hancock was made of "tough stuff" (SplashNews.com)

Now, speaking on The Coming Out Show, Gina has shared her last words with her boyfriend, who she got together with after their affair came to light.

She told the ITV cameras: "I think it's fair to say that Matt underestimated the scale of the reaction to him coming into the jungle.

"He's made of tough stuff, this summer we trekked around Mont Blanc together in 4 days.

"My last words to him were 'Just be yourself, be the Matt I know and it'll go really well.'"

The controversial couple embraced one another shortly after his exit (ITV)

But the pair were forced to be apart for three weeks, with Hancock eventually finishing in third place, while Hollyoaks star Owen Warner placed second and Lioness ace Jill Scott was crowned Queen of the Jungle.

After being booted from the jungle by hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, Hancock was met on the bridge by Gina and the pair couldn't wait to embrace one another.

"You look amazing, I love you so much," he whispered in her ear before adding: "I'm so sorry it's been this long, it's going to be great from here on in."

Hancock came underfire for entering the ITV reality show (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

During the car ride on the way back to the production site, Hancock said: "Of course, I'm curious as to how it's gone, was I authentically me?"

To which Gina responds: "It took a few days I felt for you to relax," before Hancock added: "When I was being grilled in the early days, I felt like people were asking me on behalf of the British public.

"I knew going in it would be controversial but I also know millions of people have voted for me."

Over 12 million votes were cast during the Sunday night final revealing Hancock had no chance of winning the programme, bagging just 21.72% of the votes.

I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! The Coming Out Show tomorrow at 9.15pm (Thursday) on ITV1 and ITV Hub

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