A woman who lost her father to Covid has accused ITV executives of “living on another planet” after giving former health secretary Matt Hancock a spot on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. 

Jo Goodman, whose father Stuart died of Covid in the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), said the channel’s staff “really need to think about what they consider entertainment”. 

Mr Hancock, the MP for West Suffolk, has had the Conservative whip suspended after agreeing to appear on the popular reality TV series, with new prime minister Rishi Sunak saying he was “very disappointed” in him. 

Ms Goodman, who co-founded Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice following her father’s death, said she wouldn’t be tuning in to watch Mr Hancock.

“This isn’t just someone who is a standard celebrity,” she said. 

“It’s someone who has caused huge harm for millions of people in the country and doesn’t seem to have any self-awareness about that.

“For me, that’s not something that I’m going to want to watch and I don’t know about other people.

Eastern Daily Press: Jo Goodman with her father StuartJo Goodman with her father Stuart (Image: Jo Goodman)

“But I know for me and my family, no matter how many bugs he has to eat, I want to see him speaking to the [UK Covid-19] inquiry - I don’t want to see him defending himself around the campfire.”

Hancock is expected to enter the Australian jungle in the coming days as one of the “surprise additions” after the show began on Sunday.

Ms Goodman, who lived in Norfolk until moving to London in 2007, said Mr Hancock’s participation in the inquiry was important because of the “need to understand why what happened, happened”.

Mr Hancock is likely to appear before the inquiry over eight weeks in the summer of 2023. 

Other bereaved people who have lost loved ones to Covid across the country have also criticised his upcoming appearance on the ITV series. 

Dr Cathy Gardner, who lost her father to Covid in an Oxfordshire care home, said “to see [Mr Hancock] just paraded on television, like he’s some kind of fun figure, so he can make some money and make himself into some kind of fake celebrity” was “insulting” and “completely sick”.

Mr Hancock has defended his upcoming appearance on the show, saying: “It’s important to engage with voters, especially younger voters, no matter where they are and show the human side of politicians.”