Ex-Health Secretary Matt Hancock paid £45,000 for appearance on Channel 4 series SAS: Who Dares Wins

Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock was paid £45,000 to appear on the Channel 4 series Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, documents show.

The fee paid to the Suffolk MP for the series - in which celebrities take on the challenges of the SAS recruitment process - was detailed in the latest register of MPs' financial interests, covering 15-28 November.

It was filmed before Mr Hancock went into the Australian jungle to take part in the reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, in which he finished third.

That decision sparked a backlash from politicians and the public angry at his participation while Parliament was sitting.

He was kicked out of the Tory party, criticised by senior former colleagues including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and branded "disgraceful" by voters in his own West Suffolk constituency.

Mr Hancock will disclose the fee he has received for I'm A Celebrity... in a future update to the register, though reports suggest the fee is significantly higher.

The documents show that the 44-year-old received £45,000 from London-based Minnow Films, paid via Shine Talent Management, "for appearing on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins between 24 September and 8 October 2022".

Parliament was in recess from 24 September and the Conservative Party conference was held in Birmingham from 2 to 5 October.

The papers say he was remunerated for approximately 80 hours on the show, although it is not clear how this was calculated.

Mr Hancock defended his decision to enter the jungle by saying he wanted to find new ways to engage with the public.

Speaking to journalist and fellow campmate Charlene White on his first day, he said he wanted to take part as "there's so few ways in which politicians can show that we’re human beings, so I just thought it would be good to do that".

He was also criticised by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which scrutinises former minister’s jobs, for failing to seek its advice on his TV appearances.

But Acoba chair Lord Pickles said it would be “disproportionate” to take any further action against him.

His appearance on Celebrity SAS is expected to air in 2023.

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