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Celebrity SAS viewers overjoyed as Matt Hancock is ‘torn apart’ in interrogation scene

Former health minister was told to ‘shut the f*** up’ during episode

Isobel Lewis
Wednesday 27 September 2023 08:08 BST
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Matt Hancock grilled over his handling of the pandemic on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins viewers have revelled in watching Matt Hancock get “torn apart” in the first episode of the Channel 4 show.

The former health minister is one of the celebrities taking part in the gruelling reality TV show, which sees contestants attempting to pass the SAS selection test.

Independent MP Hancock filmed the series before his controversial stint on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in November 2022, and was paid £45,000 to take part.

During one tense interrogation scene, Hancock, 44, was grilled by Jason Fox and Chris Oliver over his handling of the pandemic and his affair with Gina Coladangelo, which broke his own social distancing guidelines.

“I was managing a very difficult situation, in a professional sense,” he said. “Thought I’d done a pretty good job.”

Fox, meanwhile, referred to Hancock as “Hancock with a silent ‘Han’”, and later told him to “shut the f*** up”.

Watching at home, viewers branded Hancock “deluded”, with many praising the SAS team for “roasting” the MP and making him look “small and pathetic”.

“Matt Hancock getting absolutely torn apart on #SASWhoDaresWins. He can’t handle anyone trying to challenge his authority. Absolutely brilliant…” one viewer wrote.

Another responded: “He didn’t like that one little bit. I thought it was brilliant. Those guys spoke to him the way they all should be spoken to. On camera.”

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“Nothing makes me happier than watching Matt Hancock get his a*** handed to him on telly repeatedly,” one viewer tweeted.

“Jason telling Matt Hancock to ‘shut the f*** up’ needs to win multiple awards,” another added.

Hancock was interrogated in the first episode (Channel 4)

“Can we just give #SASWhoDaresWins the Bafta now for telling Matt Hancock to shut the f*** up halfway through episode one?” another tweet read.

Another viewer asked: “Can the SAS please talk to all our recent and present ministers, and generally keep an eye on them?”

During his time on the show, Hancock – who had the Tory whip removed after taking part in I’m a Celebrity last year – went head-to-head with former footballer Jermaine Pennant in the boxing challenge.

Here, the two opponents attempted to punch each other in the head without evasion until they were told to stop.

Describing the experience, Pennant told The Independent: “My first thought was, ‘Oh yes.’ That was without a doubt the first thought. Then after that it was, ‘Do not lose.’

“It was imperative I won because I would not be allowed to walk the streets again if I didn’t. I was just very grateful that I won and I saved face.”

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins continues on Sundays at 9pm on Channel 4.

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