Advertisement

Good Morning Britain hit with Ofcom complaints over Matt Hancock interview

The broadcasting watchdog received 103 complaints about the episode of the ITV show

Julia Hunt
·Contributor
Updated ·2-min read
Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock speaks during a virtual press conference at 10 Downing Street, amid the coronavirus pandemic, in London, Monday Jan. 18, 2021. The U.K. government says it plans to offer a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to every adult by September 2021 as the nation’s health service battles the worst crisis in its 72-year-history.(Hannah McKay/Pool via AP)
Matt Hancock's Good Morning Britain appearance sparked complaints. (AP)

Good Morning Britain has been slapped with more than 100 complaints to the regulator over its recent interview with Matt Hancock.

The former health secretary chatted to hosts Kate Garraway, Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid on the ITV show in January.

And Ofcom has now revealed that it received 103 complaints about the episode.

Read more: Lorraine Kelly reveals Matt Hancock declined to appear on her show

The broadcasting watchdog confirmed to Yahoo that the complaints related to the segment with the MP.

During the interview, Garraway confronted Hancock over his appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, saying he didn't seem to get why people had been so angry over it.

The TV star, whose husband Derek Draper spent over a year in hospital battling COVID amid the pandemic, said: "The problem is that because you were health secretary, because at that time, I couldn't visit Derek in hospital.

"He couldn't see his kids. Thousands of others couldn't go and see the people they loved for various reasons because they were following the guidelines and you have to understand it was all very muddled at that point for us out here in the world.

Matt Hancock did not deny he would like to become a TV presenter on GMB. (ITV)
Matt Hancock addressed his jungle stay. (ITV)

"It gives the impression that you still don't get why they are cross. You still don't get why people are upset."

She added: "You made the decision to go in at a time before you'd answered to an enquiry and at a time when people still felt very raw."

Hancock also discussed the £320,000 he earned for his appearance on the show, 3% of which he donated to the St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk and the British Dyslexia Association.

Kate Garraway, Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid quizzed Matt Hancock. (ITV)
Kate Garraway, Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid quizzed Matt Hancock. (ITV)

He said he didn't go into the jungle primarily for the money, explaining he "did it to try to show who I am".

Read more: 5 reasons some people really dislike Matt Hancock

Reid asked whether Hancock had designs on hosting GMB, but he replied: "No, I'm not going to be applying for your job. You do it too well."

Watch: Susanna Reid isn't taking Matt Hancock's line on rule breaking