Barry McGuigan Shares Grief Over Daughter’s Death on I’m a Celebrity

Former professional boxer Barry McGuigan has spoken candidly about the passing of his daughter during his appearance on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Actress Danika McGuigan died in 2019 at the age of 33, just five weeks after receiving a bowel cancer diagnosis. She was known for her role as Danielle in the BBC Three comedy Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope and had also featured in several films. In an emotional discussion, McGuigan recounted to his fellow jungle contestants on the ITV reality program how his daughter had previously recovered from leukaemia as a child, following two years of treatment. “She had leukaemia, when I was making the movie The Boxer with Daniel Day Lewis, three weeks from the end I had to leave because she’d been diagnosed with leukaemia, they thought she wasn’t going to get better but she fought back and she won it,” he said. “She had two years of chemo, she was good, she came back.” As the Irishman became visibly distressed, his campmates offered their support. N-Dubz star Tulisa Contostavlos remarked, “You’re a man going through pain and you’re vulnerable about it, that takes strength. There is no rules to grieving… it’s a reflection of your love.” McGuigan tearfully stated, “It was hard for weeks in the hospital, just watching, shocking.” “Thank you, you’re all so lovely, I really appreciate it,” he added. McGuigan, a former professional boxer who became World Featherweight Champion in 1985, is participating in the 24th series of the reality TV show alongside other celebrities, including Danny Jones from McFly, TV presenter Jane Moore, and Coleen Rooney. Later in the episode, Rooney, who is married to ex-England footballer Wayne Rooney, became emotional when discussing the loss of her sister Rosie, after McGuigan shared his story about Danika. She commented, “She was 14 when she died, she’d be 26 now. It’s hard to lose a child, I’ve always said that… so we’re lucky to have what we’ve got.” Rosie had been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Rett syndrome. At the time of her death in 2013, Rooney posted a tribute on social media, writing that she and her family were “absolutely heart broken to have lost our angel Rosie… we love you more than words can say.” Rett syndrome is a neurological disorder that causes profound physical and communication disabilities. It affects approximately one in 10,000 girls born each year and rarely occurs in boys. Separately, Rooney also discussed her court appearance in the libel trial with Rebekah Vardy, wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, describing it as her “worst nightmare.” Rooney had accused Vardy of leaking her private information to the press, and a judge determined that Rooney’s post making this claim was “substantially true.” A campmate asked her if she was afraid when making the social media post. “No, because I just didn’t think it would have the impact it did, because I was just that sick and tired of it, it was draining,” Rooney said. She added: “What got me, over the whole thing, was it became a bit of a joke and that’s really disappointing, it wasn’t a joke for me.” “…But no one knew the full story.”