The Last Leg host Adam Hills has held a mock political surgery in Matt Hancock’s constituency – but says people turned up with “genuine issues”.
The Australian TV presenter and comedian visited the town of Mildenhall on Sunday to allow the locals the chance to raise their concerns while the West Suffolk MP continues his controversial appearance on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
Mr Hancock has faced strong criticism for appearing on the reality show and had the Tory whip suspended for joining at a time when Parliament is sitting.
Hills, 52, appeared on Good Morning Britain to speak about the fake public drop-in, which will be shown during Friday’s episode of his Channel 4 comedy talk show The Last Leg.
He said: “I tell you what, everybody turned up with a genuine issue. I was really surprised, I thought people would have comedy issues but no, people wanted better access to public transport, to dentists, to doctors, all that kind of stuff.
“This was the interesting thing, at the end of it, they all said, ‘We just want to be listened to’.
“That was the main thing, they said we just want Matt Hancock to come here and listen to us. It’s like a marriage, you just want the other person to listen to you.”
Hills agreed when co-host Richard Madeley suggested the mood was “more in sorrow than anger”.
“Absolutely,” he said. “People aren’t angry, they just want their MP to turn up and listen to their concerns.”
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He added: “A whole bunch of people said it would just be nice to get a response, we’ve sent emails, we’ve sent letters and when that response is, ‘I’m sorry, I’m eating a kangaroo’s penis in the Australian jungle right now’, that’s kind of not what they’re hoping for.”
Mr Hancock has previously stressed the first thing he will do after leaving the jungle will be to return to Suffolk and hold a surgery with his constituents.
A spokesperson for the MP said: “Matt’s excellent team continues to deal with constituency matters, as they already do while he’s in Westminster.”
