Former professional boxer Barry McGuigan has opened up about his fears of entering the I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! camp after “what happened” to his daughter.
Actress Danika McGuigan died aged 33 in 2019, just five weeks after she was first diagnosed with bowel cancer. She had appeared in a host of films and starred in the comedy-drama series Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope.
In an emotional conversation with his fellow campmates, Barry, 63, shared that Danika had previously overcome leukaemia at the age of 11, undergoing two years of chemotherapy. He recalled the difficult time, saying: “It was hard for weeks in the hospital, just watching, shocking”.
Barry had been filming The Boxer with Daniel Day-Lewis in Dublin when Danika was first diagnosed, and he immediately dropped everything to return home to England. This experience led him to vow never to spend a night away from his family again, reports Belfast Live.
Speaking to The Times, Barry said: “After what happened to Nika, I never stayed away ever again. I always wanted to be in my own bed, to be there if anything happened.”
The loss of his daughter has had a profound impact on Barry, who has a tattoo of her face on his arm. He added: “That was the single biggest disaster in our lives. I don’t know how long God will spare us but we will never, ever recover from the devastation of losing that child.
“I would give up anything to reverse that. But I know it’s not possible. So, we go on and in many ways I owe it to her to go on, to be successful and help the boys be successful.”
Barry received emotional support from his I’m A Celebrity campmates when he shared about Danika’s cancer struggles on the programme.
N-Dubz star Tulisa Contostavlos expressed her support by saying: “You’re a man going through pain and you’re vulnerable about it, that takes strength. There are no rules to grieving… it’s a reflection of your love.”
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! will be back on air at 9pm tonight on ITV One.
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