Hancock receives letter from partner on I’m A Celebrity and discusses dyslexia for the first time

Former health secretary Matt Hancock with his former aide and now partner Gina Coladangelo. Credit: PA

Matt Hancock has received a letter from his partner and former aide Gina Coladangelo while in the I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! jungle.

The former health secretary also discussed his dyslexia for the first time on the show, after he claimed he would use his platform to raise awareness.

Ms Colandangelo and royal Zara Tindall were among the partners of the campmates who sent letters into the Australian jungle to help boost the contestants’ motivation.

As the ITV reality show reached the two-week mark on Sunday, the campmates were offered the opportunity to win personal messages from their nearest and dearest.

In order to achieve the prize, the campmates were split into three groups and tasked with balancing 10 blocks on a beam within 60 minutes.

Matt Hancock. Credit: ITV

Those whose blocks were balanced at the end of that time would be awarded a letter from home.

Mr Hancock received a letter from Ms Coladangelo, who he was caught breaking coronavirus social distancing rules with last June when they were pictured having an affair in his ministerial office, which ultimately led to his resignation as health secretary.

Scott read out the letter which said: “Dear Matt, wow watching you in the jungle has been quite the experience.

“We are particularly impressed that you conquered your fear of snakes.

“We are less sure about the dancing.

“Although we saw that you almost got the electric slide thanks to Scarlette. Gina xxxxx”

The letter referred to Hancock's attempts at the club-favourite line dance.

Mr Hancock also opened up about living with dyslexia as he chatted with his fellow campmates about their achievements in life.

Under fire for his decision to join the reality show following his handling of the pandemic, Mr Hancock said he would use the "incredible platform" to raise awareness of dyslexia, which is a type of learning difficulty.

He insisted it “wasn’t the cheque” that made him decide to join the show.

Chatting to fellow campmates comedians Babatunde Aleshe and Seann Walsh about their experiences at school, the MP spoke about his experience with dyslexia.

He said: “I desperately wanted to learn. One side on maths I could, and on English I couldn’t.”

Walsh asked: “Are you talking about reading specifically?”

Mr Hancock replied: “Yeah. And then the moment I was identified as dyslexic at university it was ‘Ahh, so actually I am okay with language, it’s just my brain works differently and I can work on that’.”


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