Good Morning Britain hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley welcomed Matt Hancock onto the programme on Tuesday to address his stint on I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here last year.
The former health secretary appeared on the show to break his silence over the £320,000 fee he received for taking part in the reality show in November.
WATCH: Susanna Reid grills Matt Hancock in awkward interview
When asked by Richard if he went into the jungle for "redemption" after breaking his own rules during the pandemic, or to make " a great deal of money", Matt responded: "The money wasn't the primary decision. Obviously, you are paid a fee for these things and if you're an MP you declare that.
"My primary motivation was to communicate with people about who I am as a person because you find that as a politician, you end up getting all the tough questions. I was a politician at a particularly difficult time with very serious stuff going on, incredibly difficult for the country."
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Later on in the interview, Susanna asked Matt: "Money must have been your primary motivation otherwise you wouldn't have gotten that much money. Are you telling the truth?"
© Photo: ITVMatt Hancock addressed his I'm a Celeb fee on GMB
"Of course," he added, prompting Susanna to press him on whether he negotiated his fee.
"Of course, there was a discussion and negotiation," said Matt. "The point is that the primary reason is because I developed over the pandemic, over lockdown and over my resignation, I ended up a very public figure and I felt that what the public knew about me was through a very particular lens."
Taking to Twitter, viewers couldn't help but comment on the awkward interview, with one person writing: "This is excruciating watching the interview with Matt Hancock, why on earth did he agree to this," while another added: "#gmb awkward!"
© Photo: ITVMatt appeared on the latest series of I'm a Celeb in November
Others praised the presenters for their interviewing skills, with one person writing: "Well done both of you especially you Susanna, finally someone asking the questions we want answers to."
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