Hundreds of new complaints have been made by I'm A Celebrity viewers within the last week as Matt Hancock clings on to his place in camp.
Ofcom confirmed that it has now received 3,287 complaints from viewers over I'm A Celebrity, with 1,764 of these relating to the former Health Secretary. Hancock caused an uproar when he was confirmed to be heading into camp earlier this month, a decision which resulted in him having the Tory whip suspended.
This figure is up from 1,968 complaints in total to Ofcom over the ITV show last week. The regulator said that while most of the complaints objected to the MP being in the jungle, some viewers expressed concerns about how Hancock was being treated by other contestants.
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"It’s worth being aware that under our rules, in principle - and taking into account freedom of expression - there's no ban on any particular person taking part in programmes," Ofcom explained in a statement last week. "However, if the mere presence of a person is likely to cause offence, we would expect broadcasters to take steps to mitigate or justify that offence. How they do that editorially, is up to them."
The regulator added: "As usual, we'll be assessing all these complaints against our broadcasting rules, before deciding whether or not to investigate." Despite the flood of complaints, Hancock has so far managed to avoid being voted out of the jungle by viewers.
The politician is in the final seven campmates, alongside Jill Scott, Owen Warner, Babatúndé Aléshé, Chris Moyles, Seann Walsh and Mike Tindall. Loose Women star and news presenter Charlene White became the first star to leave camp at the weekend, followed by A Place In The Sun's Scarlette Douglas, and then Coronation Street 's Sue Cleaver, before Boy George was evicted in Tuesday's episode.
Families in the North East whose lives were rocked by the pandemic slammed the West Suffolk MP as "morally bankrupt and distasteful" when it was confirmed that he would be heading into the jungle. Days after his arrival, a gigantic banner was flown over the camp calling for Hancock to "get out of here" in a powerful message from campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families For Justice.
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