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MATT HANCOCK SAYS he “does not expect to serve in Government again” after taking part in I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
The former UK health secretary and said he had received a lot of support for his decision to appear on the ITV reality show, and said it would be a good way to engage with a younger audience.
He reiterated that he could be reached at any point to deal with “urgent constituency matters” in West Suffolk despite being over 10,000 miles away in the Australian jungle.
Alongside comedian Seann Walsh, Hancock is expected to enter the jungle today and take part in the next Bushtucker Trial.
Following the announcement that he would be participating on I’m A Celebrity (IAC) he had the Conservative Party whip removed.
Speaking ahead of his arrival in camp, he said: “I don’t expect to serve in Government again but there are lots of ways you can communicate and engage with people.
“When I got approached to take part, I did think long and hard about it but one of the reasons that I felt able to say yes was because the IAC team have put in place a system so I can be reached at any point on any urgent constituency matters.
“Lots of people have a view on me from being health secretary in the pandemic dealing with some very difficult issues, but that’s not the whole story.
“I am looking forward to throwing myself into it all like I do everything in life. You can’t hide anything in the jungle, you see somebody warts and all.”
Hancock insisted he has received a lot of support despite having his Conservative Party whip suspended, but added he was not sure how fellow contestants would react when he walked into camp.
“I have had a lot of supportive messages from people who can see what I am trying to do to show that politicians are people too,” he said.
He added:“ There are lots of different ways to communicate with the public and we (politicians) are wrong if we think you can only do that on the traditional political shows where you are mainly only talking to people who take an active interest in politics.
“It’s important we engage with everyone, including young people, in who our politicians are and this programme is a good way to do that. I am looking forward to it.”
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Great documentary. Listen to the cold fact album regularly
Fantastic artist, really didn’t get the appreciation he deserved, highly recommend listening to both his albums, and giving searching for the sugar man a watch one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen…R.I.P.
Great documentary and a hell of a story. It really drives home the difference between the pre-internet era and now. There’s no way a situation like this could happen these days. Even if he was a diehard in terms of staying offline, a friend or family member would have been aware of his success, no matter how far away. It’s amazing to know that he went all those years completely unaware of the influence and affect he had elsewhere. It’s also another tale of how fickle the music business can be. So much luck involved. Timing too. It’s unrecognisable as an industry now but that’s another discussion… R.I.P.
Got to see him live once about 11 years ago. His voice was still incredible.
Thanks for the songs! Great some show years back in Vicar St.
Absolutely loved the album “cold fact” in the 80s. I had it on a blank tape so didn’t really know who it was. Thankfully got to see him play in whelans 2009 (I think). Amazing song writer and human. RIP Sixto
Great story, great documentary, Great Guy. RIP Sugar Man.
His story is so unbelievable, if they scripted it for a movie you would say its to far fetched
RIP sugerman
Aww, man …
And now we are hearing of another great that has died today. Robbie Robertson of The Band. Timeless music. Still have and listen to the vinyl. RIP
Two losses in one day, the great Robbie Robertson also, World has lost 2 unique talents.
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