I'm a Celebrity viewers disappointed to find out why Matt Hancock isn't entering the jungle tonight

I'm a Celebrity viewers have expressed their disappointment after finding out why Matt Hancock won't be entering the jungle tonight (6 November).

The 2022 season of the hit ITV reality TV show has finally returned to our screens, with many people excited to see a new round of celebrities ready to take on the dreaded Bushtucker Trials.

One person within the line up who's caused quite a stir is the former Health Secretary, with a petition to keep him out of the show signed by more than 40,000 people.

Others, however, are excited to see Hancock in the Australian jungle - purely so they can vote for him to get all of the nastiest challenges.

Although Ant and Dec teased his appearance on tonight's episode, saying they'll be 'rolling out the welcome mat [Matt]' for the new arrivals later in the show, it turns out fans will have to wait to see him enter the competition.

This is due to how the show is structured, as the two final contestants have always arrived around four episodes in.

If producers stick to this format, this means Hancock will arrive on 9 November - so there's not long to wait.

Twitter

But for some viewers this is too long, with one writing on Twitter: "Can't believe the turd that is @MattHancock won't be on tonight."

Another said: "Are we gonna have to wait to watch the five other celebs arrive to camp tomorrow because this was not what I signed up for in tonight’s episode.

"I want to see Matt Hancock thrown from a helicopter NOW. #ImACeleb."

The petition against the former MP was started by the COVID Bereaved Families for Justice group, who argue that tens of thousands of people died during the pandemic unnecessarily.

Hancock was the Health Secretary during that time, and was the subject of great controversy over issues from the very start.

These included delaying the first lockdown until after Cheltenham Festival, the questionable awarding of contracts regarding PPE, and the massively expensive contact tracing system that was broadly unfit for purpose.

Ian Davidson/Alamy

It then turned out that Hancock had been cheating on his wife with an aide, who was also married, named Gina Coladangelo.

That meant that the 44-year-old had to resign as Health Secretary, though he remained as an MP.

But now he’s had the whip suspended by the Conservative Party after announcing that he was going on the ITV show.