ITV bosses have lined up a stellar replacement for Ally McCoist on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, after the football star got cold feet about taking part for the third time.
Irish boxing legend and Mirror sports columnist Barry McGuigan will now be heading Down Under.
His decision to join this year’s line-up comes amid the annual last-minute frenzy as some of the celebs either sign on the dotted line - or ship out.
One source said: “Barry is a bona-fide sporting legend and he’s a great person to have heading for the jungle. When he rose to fame in the 1980s as the WBA featherweight boxing champ he became a non-sectarian ambassador. He fought for both Ireland and Great Britain and was loved and respected on both sides of the divide. There’s not many who can say that.”
The dad-of-four held major featherweight titles from 1983 to 1986. In 1985 he was named the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year and in 2005 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
In 2017 he laughed that boxing pal Amir Khan had been “embarrassing” in a particular Bushtucker Trial when he ran away from a snake. Commenting at the time McGuigan said: “He was a bit embarrassing on the first task but he made up for it last night.” Now Khan, 37, can see if his old pal can do any better.
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Getty Images)Others set to take part in the jungle series this year include Coronation Street’s Alan Halsall who was prevented from taking part last year because of a knee injury, WAG Coleen Rooney, Love Island’s Maura Higgins, who was drafted in after Tommy Fury changed his mind about signing up, and former X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos.
Former Strictly favourite Oti Mabuse is also expected to take part along with McFly singer Danny Jones, who follows in the footsteps of bandmate Dougie Poynter who won back in 2011.
Barry has not been seen much on TV in recent years outside of his work as a sports commentator. Back in 2007 he was the winner of ITV’s Hell’s Kitchen
The boxer is now 63 but keeps fit with regular exercise and weight training.
A couple of years ago he explained: “You have to fight back against ageing. As we get older, we start to develop joint problems, issue with knees and hips and ankles. You have to fight back and the way to do it is through body weight exercises, particularly lunges and squats.”
Barry and his wife Sandra suffered tragedy in 2019 when their daughter Danika died of cancer aged just 33. Paying tribute to her afterwards, he said she inspired him to look after himself and stay strong. “We think about her nonstop,” he explained. “She was a super girl, a super lassie. It has been such a tragedy for us, but I know I have to get on with life, for her.”
During his professional career, McGuigan was known as the Clones Cyclone after the area of Ireland in which he was born. When he retired from the ring, he moved into boxing promotion along with family members including his wife and their three sons.
Last night an ITV spokesman said he did not comment on speculation about who was going into the jungle.
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