In November 2022, Hancock had the party whip suspended after announcing he would appear as a contestant in the twenty-second series of the survival reality television show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, in which he finished in third place.

In January 2013, he was accused of dishonesty by Daybreak presenter, Matt Barbet, after claiming he had been excluded from a discussion about apprentices after turning up "just 30 seconds late".

[16] Hancock acknowledged on social media that he was running late, but said he turned up ahead of time for the interview and was unfairly blocked from going on set by producers.

In June 2014, Hancock, in his role as a minister, encouraged employers to become involved in offering more apprenticeships, allowing young people to learn and earn simultaneously.

[23] In this role he was criticised for hiring a private jet with senior diplomatic officials to fly back from a climate conference in Aberdeen, where he signed a deal with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to use British expertise in Mexico.

[35] On 8 January 2018, Hancock was appointed Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in Theresa May's 2018 cabinet reshuffle, succeeding Karen Bradley.

[36] On his first day in the role he criticised the BBC for the amounts of pay its foreign journalists received, and said that some men at the corporation were paid "far more than equivalent public servants".

[43] In May 2018, as Media Secretary, Hancock confirmed the highest stake on fixed odds betting terminals would be cut to £2, after Prime Minister May sided with him over the issue.

The Labour MP Justin Madders wrote to Theresa May accusing Hancock of repeatedly endorsing the products of a company that receives NHS funds for patients it treats, which contravenes ministerial guidelines.

The ministerial code includes that ministers should not "normally accept invitations to act as patrons of, or otherwise offer support to, pressure groups or organisations dependent in whole or in part on Government funding".

[52] In a September 2019 Channel 4 News interview, Hancock was asked to respond to allegations that at a private lunch in 1999, Johnson had groped the leg of journalist Charlotte Edwardes under a table.

[58] After the government gave strict social distancing advice which was defied by large numbers of people, Hancock took a stronger line than the prime minister on condemning those still socialising in groups and derided them as being "very selfish".

[61] He stayed in self-isolation with mild symptoms for seven days, before delivering an update on COVID-19 testing targets and on Government plans to write off £13.4 billion of NHS debt.

[67] Doctors' groups maintained that they helped deliver 45,000 masks to hospitals that did not have a sufficient supply at the beginning of the pandemic and that families of healthcare workers who died from COVID-19 had expressed concerns about the protection they got.

Early in the pandemic NHS staff were photographed with poorly fitting personal protective equipment (PPE) and some made improvised gowns for themselves from bin bags.

"[69] Hancock received criticism from journalists for perceived sexism after suggesting on 5 May 2020 that Labour MP and shadow health minister Rosena Allin-Khan change the "tone" of her comments.

[72] On 11 October 2020, Hancock denied breaching a 10 pm drinking curfew in the Smoking Room bar in the House of Commons, put in place because of the pandemic.

[79] On 19 February 2021, after a legal challenge by the Good Law Project, a High Court judge ruled that Hancock had acted unlawfully by handing out PPE contracts without publishing details in a timely manner.

[80] In April 2021, it was reported that Hancock had been given 20% of shares in Topwood Limited, a firm based in Wrexham which is owned by his sister and other close family members.

[86] Following his testimony, YouGov noted that more people in the general public thought Hancock should resign than stay in his post, despite questions over the accuracy of Cummings's statements.

The High Court of Justice ruled in a case against Boris Johnson's government on 27 April 2022 that discharging people into care homes without testing them was unlawful.

Lord Justice Bean and Neil Garnham ruled that the policies were not lawful since they disregarded the risk from non-symptomatic transmission of COVID-19 to elderly and vulnerable residents.

"[89][90] On 25 June 2021, it was revealed that Hancock had breached COVID-19 social distancing restrictions with Gina Coladangelo, an adviser in the DHSC with whom he was having an extramarital affair, after CCTV images of him kissing and embracing her in his Whitehall office on 6 May were published in The Sun newspaper.

[108] According to the Independent, Hancock faced severe criticism due to a shortage of PPE in the NHS early in the pandemic, the award of contracts for supplying masks and the decision to transfer elderly patients to care homes without COVID-19 testing.

[118][122] Reviews commented that the book presented too positive an image, making Hancock seem unduly prescient with the benefit of hindsight, arguing there may be elements of revisionism.

[126] One message from April 2020 suggests Hancock told aides that professor Chris Whitty had done "an "evidence review" and recommended "testing of all going into care homes, and segregation whilst awaiting result".

[127] A spokesman for Hancock said, "These stolen messages have been doctored to create a false story that Matt rejected clinical advice on care home testing".

[134] Explaining his decision to participate in the show, Hancock said, "I want to raise the profile of my dyslexia campaign to help every dyslexic child unleash their potential — even if it means taking an unusual route to get there, via the Australian jungle"!

[136] After he entered the jungle camp, Hancock was questioned by his fellow contestants, including Charlene White, Chris Moyles and Babatunde Aléshé, about his time as Health Secretary.

Stone said that Hancock's decision to join the show raised "important questions about members' proper activities while they're supposed to be fulfilling their parliamentary duties and representing their constituents".