Matt Hancock ‘desperately’ wanted to ‘banter with Ant and Dec’ during tough I’m A Celebrity interview grilling-Cydney Yeates-Entertainment – Metro

Matt Hancock was crying out for some light relief with Ant and Dec during his I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! exit chat, according to a body language expert.

The former health secretary left the jungle in third place during Sunday’s final, which saw Lioness Jill Scott crowned winner and Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner land the second spot.

Before Ant and Dec revealed the 2022 champion, they sat down with Hancock and grilled him on his decision to take part in the series in an interview that many viewers branded ‘manipulative’ and ‘stomach-churning’.

Reiterating what he’d said in camp about wanting to seem ‘human’ as a politician, Hancock responded: ‘Well I just wanted – well I said this in there.

‘But I just wanted to show what I’m just like as a person. Lots of people come to me with preconceived ideas for obvious reasons and I just wanted to be myself.’

Matt Hancock was looking for banter from Ant and Dec during his exit interview (Picture: ITV)

Ant and Dec grilled the former health secretary on his decision to sign up (Picture: ITV)

Body language expert Judi James has analysed Hancock’s mannerisms throughout the interview and noted how he signalled for relief from Ant and Dec amid their tough questions.

Judi explains how Hancock initially appeared confident in the hot seat, however, his demeanour quickly changed to ‘politician mode’ once the hosts made it clear they were not going to make the chat light-hearted.

‘Matt’s hand on his hip with his elbow pointing out showed he began the interview with all the bravado of a guy who has just managed to get to third place via some miracle voting and who was full of expectation in terms of being newly popular and even loved by the public whose attention and “forgiveness” he claimed to crave,’ she exclusively tells Metro.co.uk.

Hancock quickly went into ‘full political mode’ during the chat (Picture: ITV)

‘Within moments though, Matt was in full political mode, looking wary and full of bluster as he used verbal fillers as his eyes scanned about to prompt his brain to dig deep for some on-message responses.

‘The way Matt’s eyes also flicked from Ant to Dec as he spoke suggested he was desperately looking for those cheeky smiles and jolly banter but getting next to nothing.’

Judi, however, points out that Ant and Dec’s unsmiling facial expressions as they waited for an answer gave Hancock a clue to the tone of this interview.

‘His response was to switch mode from “jungle celeb” to “politician being grilled”, with a sudden use of the Tony Blair gated hands gesture to suggest a self-protective barrier as he said “I just want to show people what I’m like”,’ she observes.

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‘Matt used the invisible brick hand gesture of building points and the open-handed look of persuasion.

‘He tried to be funny, and he went for a fun eye expression but the only laugh from the other side of the table sounded rather mirthless as Dec asked “Do you understand those reactions?” like a seasoned political interviewer.’

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! is available to stream on ITV Hub.

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