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Cox also defended her appearances on entertainment television, saying she did it to connect with people, not for self-promotion.
"She was a lousy dancer, she would be the first person to say that," Cox recalled, noting how the public loved her for it.
He concluded that Widdecombe passionately cared about the country and its people.
BBC Radio Kent political reporter Michael Keohan shared personal recollections, including Widdecombe asking him to "read the Riot Act" to producers who called her too early for a radio slot.
Keohan noted that her public persona matched her private communication: forthright and colorful.
He also recalled a joint broadcast where Widdecombe "read the Riot Act to the Archbishop of Canterbury," demonstrating her egalitarian approach.
"Ann Widdecombe didn't take prisoners no matter what part of life it was from," Keohan said.
According to The Guardian, Widdecombe was elected to Parliament in 1987 after working in marketing at Unilever and university financial administration.
She converted to Catholicism in 1993 and held socially conservative views on abortion and LGBT rights, along with strong Euroscepticism that led her to join the Brexit Party in 2019.
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Her final political role was as a representative for Nigel Farage's Brexit Party before transitioning to Reform UK.
