‘I do believe in second chances,’ Babatunde said (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
Comedian Babatunde Aleshe has confirmed Matt Hancock is no longer in the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Whatsapp group.
The former health secretary joined the likes of Lioness Jill Scott, Boy George and the show’s first ever royal Mike Tindall on the popular reality series, which saw him finish in third place.
However, since exiting the jungle, there’s been some confusion over whether he’s stayed in touch with his co-stars.
A Place In The Sun presenter Scarlette Douglas had first addressed the group back in December, saying Hancock wasn’t part of it but she was keen to stay in touch with her castmates.
‘I’m not the admin of that WhatsApp group so if Mike wants to invite him he absolutely can, but it’s not me to put the invitation out so we’ll see what happens,’ she had said.
Not long later, Tindall clarified: ‘I think there’s been a miscommunication with that, no one has left the WhatsApp group.’
Apparently, the power was held in Mike Tindall’s hands (Picture: James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock)
But now, Aleshe has confirmed that Hancock, 44, isn’t part of the group.
Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show, he said: ‘I checked today and he’s not in the group anymore.
‘I don’t know if he’s been kicked out or if he left of his own accord.’
The former health secretary came in third place (Picture: James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock)
Aleshe also spoke about his experience of living in camp with Hancock, whose appearance on the show sparked a lot of controversy and resulted in grillings from the likes of Loose Women star Charlene White: ‘I won’t lie, it was tough but I tried to make good out of a bad situation.
‘You’re in here, I’ve got to be your teammate and he came in flying, winning trials.
‘But at the end of the day, I do believe in second chances and I was just like let me at least try to be the nice person.’
Following his 18-day stint on the show, which saw him earn a reported £320,000 fee, Hancock revealed he would not stand in the next general election.
His appearance on the show sparked a lot of backlash (Picture: James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock)
Hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly later defended booking Hancock on the show, saying that it was ‘very difficult’ to put personal feelings aside and retain a neutrality.
‘We were all affected by decisions that he made and situations he created, so it was very, very difficult.
‘But we tried incredibly hard to be impartial and to put that to one side. And I hope we did it.
Responding to backlash over ITV booking Hancock after many felt it was inappropriate given the devastation and trauma of the pandemic, Dec said: ‘That is a really interesting point of view. And, of course, [it] has some validity.
‘I think it was interesting to allow him his say and to hear things from his point of view. Like I say, it was a situation that we all lived through, and he was at the centre of it.
‘I kind of wanted to hear – now that he’s no longer a politician, and wasn’t doing his pivots in interviews – his side of the story, and his point of view.
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‘I personally thought it was a really really interesting booking. And I was interested in hearing what he was like, and what things were like from his point of view.’
Hancock’s reality TV career isn’t over just yet as he’s set to be appearing on SAS: Who Dares Wins later this year, for which it’s been reported he’s earned £45,000.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Is available to stream on ITVX.
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