Matt Hancock confronted by Kate Garraway on GMB over I'm A Celeb appearance

Watch: Matt Hancock grilled by Kate Garraway on GMB

Kate Garraway told Matt Hancock he did not seem to understand why people were so angry with him for taking part in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.

The Good Morning Britain presenter - who was unable to visit husband Derek Draper in hospital after he contracted coronavirus during the pandemic due to ther government's COVID restrictions - confronted the former health secretary about his paid appearance on reality show.

Garraway, 55, was visibly emotional as she asked: "The problem is that because you were health secretary, because at that time, I couldn't visit Derek in hospital.

Read more: 5 reasons some people really dislike Matt Hancock

"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.

"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 a enquiry and at a time when people still fell very raw. Can you explain now, because I'm not sure people yet feel comfortable why you did it?"

The TV presenter had tears in her eyes, her voice faltered on occasion and she could be seen taking deep, slow breaths to calm her nerves.

Hancock responded: "I get all that I really do, and I really feel it."

Draper remains in a wheelchair and suffers many ongoing medical complication as a result of his long battle with coronavirus. He fell ill in March 2020 and returned home to Garraway and their two children - Darcey and 13-year-old son Billy - in April 2021.

Garraway joined Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid for the lengthy live interview with the former health secretary.

Hancock insisted that he did not do I'm A Celebrity for the money.

He said: “I didn’t primarily do it (go on the reality show) for the money, I primarily did it to try to show who I am."

The MP earned £320,000 for his appearance on the show, three per cent of which he donated to the St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk and the British Dyslexia Association.

He also admitted he would like to go into TV presenting and make documentaries on matters he thought were "important".

Reid asked him: "Would you like to host Good Morning Britain? Is that what this is about? Do you want to sit in the Piers Morgan 'mincer' chair? You're laughing. Is that what you're after?"

Read more: Kate Garraway says husband Derek Draper fell out of wheelchair on return from hospital

Hancock said: "No, I'm not going to be applying for your job. You do it too well."