Barry McGuigan's daughter, Danika, made a heartbreaking promise to her father before her death. The 63-year-old boxing legend and his wife Sandra, who he wed back in 1981, were left devastated in 2019 when their daughter, Danika - who was affectionately called Nika - died at the age of 33 following a battle against cancer.
Barry, who joined I'm A Celeb on Sunday, spoke about his daughter's diagnosis in a 2005 interview, sharing: "Finding out that Danika had leukaemia was like being hit with a sledgehammer. There's nothing worse than your child getting sick. No amount of fighting in the ring could have prepared me for it."
Barry then opened up about the heart-wrenching promise that Danika made before her death. Speaking to the Sunday Times, he said: "After about a year and a half out of school, Danika returned to school - and in a heartbreaking conversation with her father - said she wouldn't get sick again. She just got on with her life."
He continued: "She found a love of drama and is now at acting school in Dublin. The word 'dynamo' doesn't do her justice. With Danika the glass is never half-empty and never half-full. It's completely full. In fact, it's probably spilling over."
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Internet Unknown)Barry joined a long list of A list celebs as he went down under for the nail-biting series hosted by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. Among this year's contestants are N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos, Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall and Strictly Come Dancing pro Oti Mabuse.
During Monday night's I'm A Celeb episode, Barry opened up about his loss in a candid conversation with radio host Dean McCullough. Viewers watched as Dean asked Barry if he goes to church and the sport star replied: “I used to go to church a lot but after my daughter… you know, not so much.”
Discussing his loss, the boxer explained: “She had leukaemia, when I was making the boxing 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.”
As Barry became emotional and broke down in tears, all the campmates rallied around to console him, with Danny Jones and Tulisa Contostavlos giving him a hug. Barry said: “Thank you, you’re all so lovely, I really appreciate it.”
When she was alive, Danika was an actress. She was known for her role as Danielle Mullane in Can't Cope, Won't Cope. The late star was also awarded Best Actress at the 2021 IFTA Awards for her final role in Wildfire.
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ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Barry opened up to his campmates about Danika's second bout of cancer which came up whilst she was filming a movie.
He told Loose Women star Jane Moore 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.”
His story touched Coleen Rooney who shared her own story about loss with Dean and Oti Mabuse. Recalling her about the loss of her sister, Rosie McLoughlin , who died in 2013 aged 14, Coleen recalled: “Even when Rosie died, I kept it together for me mum and dad.” She added: “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.”
Viewers were left emotional by the stories, with many in tears themselves. One I'm A Celeb fan wrote on X: "Na this episode has got me on an emotional rollercoaster #ImACeleb." Another added: "Oh my God my heart is breaking for Barry McGuigan." And another typed: "Barry my heart man #ImACeleb #ImACelebrity."
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