‘Bewildering and offensive’ - Jodie Comer hits out at I’m a Celebrity over Matt Hancock

Scouse TV and film star, Jodie Comer, has criticised I’m A Celeb for providing Matt Hancock with the opportunity to participate, after his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic as Health Secretary.

The 29-year-old recently starred in a television drama, highlighting the struggles care homes faced at the beginning of the pandemic - from lack of urgent medical care, lack of PPE and the feeling that care homes were forgotten about.

‘Help’ also starring fellow Liverpudlian Stephen Graham, received the International Emmy for a TV movie/mini-series, at the 2022 awards ceremony this week and Comer took to Instagram to share the news.

She said: “Our small but mighty film set in a Liverpool care home during the COVID pandemic just won an International Emmy!!!”

In the same post, she highlighted the work of Community Intergrated Care and said their Director of Partnerships, John Hughes, was “incredibly helpful” during the creation of the film.

However, the post wasn’t all positive as she criticised former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Hancock.

Miss Comer said: “I don’t watch ‘I’m A Celeb’ but I along with many others find it bewildering and offensive to so many that Matt Hancock was given the opportunity, especially at this moment in time.”

The actress also shared a link to donate to Community Intergrated Care.

Matt Hancock and care homes during Covid-19

At the beginning of the pandemic, the then Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, said ministers had put a “protective ring of steel” around care homes. However, earlier this year, High Court judges ruled that government policies on discharging patients from hospital to care homes at the time were “unlawful” and failed to consider risks of transmission to care home patients.

At the time, a spokesperson for Mr Hancock said the ruling cleared “ministers of any wrongdoing” and found “Mr Hancock acted reasonably on all counts.”

However, members of the public are still angry at the former Health Secretary’s handling of the pandemic and there has been outrage that he has been allowed to enter I’m A Celeb.

Mr Hancock was forced to resign as Health Secretary in June 2021 after kissing a colleague when social distancing guidelines were in place and between November 8-14 this year, Ofcom received 1,100 complaints about his participation in I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

A public inquiry into the UK’s handling of Covid-19 is currently underway.