JUNGLE RUMBLE
I’m A Celebrity stars turn on Matt Hancock as emotional Charlene recalls aunt’s death from Covid
THE stars of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here were spotted turning on Matt Hancock tonight in a tense Covid showdown.
The former Health Secretary was finally grilled by his celebrity co-stars about his affair during the coronavirus pandemic as Charlene White opened up about tragically losing her aunt to the virus.
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MP Matt, 44, who entered the Australian jungle earlier this week, was previously quizzed about his affair with Gina Coladangelo.
But tonight - the celebrities took it one step further as they questioned the politician on how he felt he handled the pandemic.
Around the camp, Radio DJ Chris Moyles asked Matt about the repercussions of his affair: "You got a lockdown fine, didn't you?"
Matt replied: “No, of course I didn’t. No, I did not. I didn’t break any…”
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Loose Women star Charlene, 42, then hit out: “You were socialising with someone outside your household.”
Matt protested: “I didn’t break any laws. Guidance is different. Guidance is guidance, but the problem was it was my guidance."
A Place In The Sun star Scarlette Douglas then chimed in to quiz Matt: "So why did you break your own guidance?"
“Because it was a mistake, because I fell in love with somebody," Matt explained, telling the Bush Telegraph: "It’s only respectful to just give completely straight and truthful answers.”
Matt went on to explain he "apologised" for the incident, but it wasn't enough for the campmates, who continued to grill him.
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"It’s that kind of, you just do it and then afterwards it’s like, ‘Oh I’m sorry, I’m sorry'," Scarlette, 35, continued.
As Matt tried to explain: “No, because it’s bigger than that," Charlene interjected, opening up about losing her aunt.
Charlene said: “It’s massively bigger than that. My aunt died from Covid in the first wave. So, we couldn’t go to the hospital to go and visit her.
"I had to sit by myself in the church at her funeral. We couldn’t hug each other because we were following guidance.
"I get that you fell in love, I understand all of those things, but sorry for a lot of families like mine doesn’t really cut it.”
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Matt said: “Yeah. Well, there you go. That’s one of the reasons that I regret it as much as I do.”
Not wanting to back down, Charlene then asked: “Do you have regret regarding the way that as Health Minister you dealt with the pandemic as a whole?”
Matt went on: “So the pandemic as a whole no, I’m much, much more robust in my defence of it.
“So PPE for instance, I know, of course I saw what happened to it, but that’s because we suddenly needed masses more PPE and so did everybody else in the world.
"And care homes… There were reasons for the decisions that were taken and ultimately those problems were caused by the virus, not the people who were trying to solve the problem.”
Charlene in the Bush Telegraph: “It was a lot but you tend to get the best out of people when their guards are down and they feel safe.”
As the group continued to question Matt, Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver butted in asking everyone to "stop".
Sue concluded: “I think we’ve covered everything, we should stop. What I do appreciate is that you did eat a sheep’s vagina for us.
"Life isn’t black and white and we are all fallible and we all f*** up.”
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Charlene and Matt shared an emotional hug as the politician started to well up - as they looked to put their difference behind them.
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It comes after Matt and Charlene locked horns earlier this week, with fans sure that the pair would cause a tense rift between camp.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here airs weekdays at 9pm on ITV
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