Matt Hancock's girlfriend Gina Coladangelo has landed in Brisbane to show her support for the disgraced MP, who is currently appearing on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
Gina was pictured at London's Heathrow on Tuesday, determinably making the 24-hour journey to Australia ready to greet Hancock on the jungle when he leaves the jungle.
The businesswoman showed no signs of tiredness after flying business class into Oz on Singapore Airlines, where tickets can be as high as £11,000, as she told reporters she is missing him terribly but "impressed" at how tough he is.
All eyes were on Hancock's partner as she walked through the Brisbane terminal on Wednesday after the MP gushed about his love for the woman, who he was caught passionately kissing on CCTV last year.
Speaking about her beau, she told The Mirror: "I have been watching the show, it would be difficult not to be impressed he has done really well."
Asked about him taking on the trials she said: "He is made of tough stuff, it is hard not to be impressed. But it is good they are sharing them around now."
When asked whether being apart has been difficult she smiled and nodded as she said: "Obviously yes I have missed him."
On the dynamic in the camp which has sometimes seen Hancock be quizzed, she said: "They all seem to be getting on OK."
When asked what she thought of the reaction around Hancock controversially going onto the show, Gina declined to comment and then got into a waiting car.
The steamy clinch led to him resigning as Health Secretary and the demise of his marriage to his wife Martha, but Hancock told his fellow campmates Gina is the "best thing to happen to him" from the scandal.
MP Hancock has mentioned Gina a number of times in camp and said how much he was looking forward to seeing her when he is evicted from the show. This could happen as soon as the weekend with evictions poised to start on Friday.
Explaining his reasons for kissing her and breaking lockdown guidelines, he told the Babatunde: “I messed up and I fessed up. I resigned and it’s no excuse but I fell in love, right? That also had a lot of other consequences obviously.”
The pair then went on to discuss the famous CCTV footage from June 2021 which ended his career as a cabinet member.
Babatúndé said: “You didn’t just ‘fell in love’ you were grabbing booty bruv!”
Hancock responded: “Oh give over.”
Babatúndé laughed: “Sorry.”
Hancock said: “You are a comedian.”
Hancock added: “That’s been hard, I obviously brought it on myself, so yeah… it’s been tough.”
Babatúndé asked: “Are you still with the lady?”
Hancock replied: “With Gina? Yeah very much so, yeah, totally. That’ll be the best thing about being kicked out, seeing her on the bridge.”
This year the friends and family - and contestants once evicted - will no longer get to stay in the luxurious Palazzo Versace hotel on the Gold Coast.
In a major shake-up by ITV, they will instead be staying at JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort and Spa. The hotel is close to the Versace hotel but it is thought to be costing ITV less money for the accommodation.
It remains unclear how long Gina will get to spend Down Under. Hancock vowed to return to work as soon as possible once he is evicted before going into camp.
But traditionally all the contestants would stay and appear in camp to watch the finalist crowned which this year will happen on Sunday, November 27.
A spokesman for Hancock insisted things were being judged on a day-by-day basis regarding his movements.
In a statement, they added: "Once Matt's time on the programme is up, Matt will return to Suffolk to hold surgeries where he will catch up with his constituents and discuss matters of concern.
"Matt's excellent team continue to deal with constituency matters, as they already do while he's in Westminster."
