Former boxing champ Barry McGuigan tearfully recounts daughter's battle with cancer on I'm A Celeb
I'm A Celebrity star Barry McGuigan broke down in tears as he shared the heartbreaking story of his daughter's death with his campmates.
The latest instalment of the ITV show began yesterday (November 17), featuring well-known personalities such as McFly's Danny Jones, radio host Dean McCullough and WAG Coleen Rooney.
In tonight's episode, emotions ran high as former boxing champion Barry discussed his daughter Danika's cancer diagnosis and subsequent passing.
While the contestants were sitting around the campfire, Dean asked the 63-year-old if he goes to church, to which Barry candidly responded: “I used to go to church a lot but after my daughter… you know, not so much.”
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McGuigan tragically lost his daughter in 2019, five weeks after she was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer.
Explaining the loss of Danika, known as Nika, he said: “She had leukaemia, when I was making [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. She had two years of chemo.”
Nika beat the disease when she was a child and went on to build an acting career, even appearing in the 2016 Irish drama Mammal, alongside Barry Keoghan.
Unfortunately, the actress faced another bout of the illness in her early thirties.
As Barry recounted the story, he was overcome with emotion and began to cry. His campmates were quick to offer their support, with Danny and N-Dubz singer Tulisa comforting him with a hug.
Speaking about Danika's second battle with cancer, he told journalist Jane Moore that she had "pains in her tummy but she was making the movie, she put it off and went to the doctor, called us all in. Stage 4 bowel cancer, 5 weeks, 5 weeks she died."
Barry has previously spoken about his grief, admitting that he will never fully recover from his loss. In a 2021 interview with BelfastLive, he said: "I lost my daughter two years ago and it's been shocking."
"I'll never recover from it. My life will go on but I'll never be the same because family means everything to me."
Although Nika was Barry's only daughter, he has three sons; Shane, Jake, and Blane with his wife of over 40 years, Sandra.
I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! continues tomorrow night at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX followed by I'm A Celebrity: Unpacked on ITV2 after the main show.
