Matt Hancock is the latest in a long line of politicians to show us their 'human' side

Matt Hancock has just come third in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! for the 22nd series of the reality show. He’s not the first MP to enter the jungle.

Back in 2012, Nadine Dorries, another Conservative party member, became the first serving MP to appear on the show. She lasted 12 days.

Ms Dorries’ lacklustre performance in the 'Bug Burial' Bushtucker Trial failed to win any food for her campmates, and she subsequently became the first of the 2012 ITV show’s famous intake to be voted off by the watching public.

Worse was to come when Tory party bosses suspended the whip over her decision to leave the country to appear on the reality programme, though she defended her actions, saying MPs 'should be' taking part in order to reach large audiences.

This was a similar argument to Matt Hancock, who also had the whip suspended when he left his constituents for the jungle. He said he wanted to show ‘the human side’ to politicians. We saw the human side to Matt Hancock when he was caught on camera groping his aide and long-time friend Gina Coladangelo in his office. And yet, he wanted to give the public more of his human sides.

On the opposite side of the political spectrum, the Labour party had their former MP, Ed Balls, appear on Strictly Come Dancing. Ed was the first male politician to appear on the show. He lasted until week 10 and he proved very popular with the voting public.

Bowing out of the competition, he admitted he was disappointed not to reach the final but insisted his appearance on the show had felt “like a victory, not a defeat”.

Speaking after the results, he said: “I think the most important thing for me was always to leave on a high, not on a low. I so enjoyed myself and got so much further than I ever thought I could.”

Another Strictly contestant who gave dancer Anton Du Beke the challenge of a lifetime was Ann Widdecombe, who also made it 10 weeks – that was three long months of training in Anton’s world. Her dances caused much amusement and she showed herself to be a great sport. The pair became friends after dancing together in 2010, the duo having garnered attention for their less than wonderful execution of routines.

Reality TV is certainly an option for recovering politicians, or even serving MPs, and we can probably hazard a guess that Boris, Liz or even Rishi may one day be eating kangaroo tail or slipping on the sequins…