Rumble in the jungle

It’s been like scenes from Carry On Up The Jungle, but the slapstick and frequently cringeworthy comedy and chatter have been mixed with bucket loads of controversy. Matt Hancock, the disgraced and discredited former health secretary, followed in the television footsteps of fellow former cabinet member, Nadine Dorries, to appear in the ITV reality show, I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! We can be thankful that it’s now over, and that Hancock came a distant third – an improvement at least from his bid to become PM. It’s a series in which a motley bunch of “celebrities” are supposedly stranded together in the Australian jungle to bitch about each other, share tearful stories of their troubled lives and endure mostly revolting “bush tucker trials”. Hancock, for example, fed on a camel’s penis, while Norris, in her stint in the show, was asked to munch on, amongst other delicacies, a lamb’s testicle. Little wonder the show has drawn the ire of animal cruelty campaigners. Nevertheless, the ratings-topping programme is loved by millions, although probably loathed by almost as many. Fans would say it’s a bit of harmless fun, a welcome escape from the cost-of-living crisis and other worries, and the producers must be getting something right because this most recent series is the twenty-second. But Hancock has come in for massive criticism for neglecting his day job as an MP in a blatant attempt to rebuild his shattered public image, while at the same time pocketing a very handy £400,000. As health secretary at the height of the Covid pandemic, when the UK had one of the highest coronavirus death tolls in the world, the married minister was forced to resign after being captured on health department CCTV cameras, locked in an embrace with his then aide, now partner, Gina Coladangelo, thus breaking his own lockdown rules.

Hancock’s decision to go into the jungle sparked fury from his constituents, including a local vicar, his constituency party, and from all sides of Parliament, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. He was stripped of the party whip and seems unlikely to get another run at reselection let alone re-election. In the meantime, there is more “celebrity” Hancock in the television can, as he has also recorded Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, set for broadcast next summer. But do we want our politicians rebooted and rebranded as “celebrities” on TV? Commons Leader, Penny Mordaunt’s appearance on another reality show, Splash! received criticism from political opponents, but the MP said her part in the programme caused no damage to her career and that she had donated her £10,000 fee to charities. Then there were Strictly Come Dancing appearances by politicians Ed Balls, and unforgettably, Ann Widdicombe, but their moves into showbiz were after their Commons’ careers had ended. And both former MPs have since featured frequently on television. The row over MPs and second jobs has been simmering for years. Normally these jobs are in the form of directorships or advisory positions. Going into the jungle, even a pretend jungle in Australia, some reckon is a second-job step too far.