Absent MP Matt Hancock missed last month’s Tory conference to film Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
A source said the I'm A Celebrity contestant wanted to show off his “mental strength and physical fitness”. He also hoped to join Bear Grylls survival shows.
Hancock was accused of lying to bosses of that show by insisting he would not appear in the jungle, before doing a classic Tory U-turn.
He is so desperate to reinvent himself as an all-action hero, a source revealed.
And Hancock was touted by an aide to TV firms hoping for a slot with Grylls.
One source said: "We took the call in February and his aide made no secret of the fact that he was keen to work with Bear Grylls. He said Hancock would be a great asset because he is 'such a fun guy'. This isn't the first time he'd asked about working with Bear.
"Similar enquiries were made before the pandemic.
"He clearly fancies himself as some sort of superstar boy scout."
Hancock, 44, spent the first week of October filming abroad for the SAS show, with stars including former model Messenger, 51, singer Gareth Gates, 38, and TOWIE's James Argent, 34.
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At the Tory conference in Manchester, he was listed as a speaker at one fringe event on October 3. But pictures show he was not on the panel.
Event organisers said he was "never confirmed". A TV source claimed West Suffolk MP Hancock had been quizzed on whether he intended to join I'm A Celebrity, and insisted he was not.
The insider added: "He was asked if he was going into the jungle and he said he’d already turned it down twice for this year.
"He said he wanted to do Celeb SAS because it was tougher and more credible, because he wanted to show off his mental strength as well as his physical fitness.
"He was asked for a third time last Thursday, he accepted on Friday. When he said he wasn't doing it, that was just more Tory lies."
Hancock, who earns £84,000 as an MP, was paid a fee for taking part in the SAS show. It is likely to be aired next summer.
He got away with his unexplained absence as an MP for a fortnight, as filming fell within the recess for the Tory party conference.
Hancock claims he accepted the I'm A Celebrity challenge in Australia to highlight dyslexia.
He had the Tory whip immediately removed for abandoning the Commons and his constituents.
His appearance sparked fury among families of Covid victims after he presided over one of the highest death tolls in Europe during the pandemic.
Former winner Georgia Toffolo accused him of "leaving his constituents to earn loads of money". She said: "And flaunting it in front of the people who lost so many loved ones."
Mr Hancock's spokesman was contacted tonight but did not return calls. And Celebrity SAS bosses declined to comment on his part in the show.
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