I'm A Celebrity star Barry McGuigan's family: tragic loss of daughter and sons' boxing careers

In a heart-breaking conversation, McGuigan told his chap I’m A Celeb stars however Danika was diagnosed with leukaemia portion helium was moving connected the Daniel Day-Lewis movie The Boxer. 

“Three weeks from the end, I had to permission [filming] due to the fact that she’d been diagnosed with leukaemia,” said the Northern Irishman, champion known for winning the WBA featherweight rubric successful 1985. “They thought she wasn’t going to get amended but she fought backmost and she won it.

“She had 2 years of chemo, she was good, she came back.”

Devastatingly, the histrion was past diagnosed with crab again.

“[She] ne'er got to spot the opening of it,” McGuigan said. “Stage 4 bowel cancer, 5 weeks, 5 weeks she died.” 

As good arsenic appearing successful galore films specified arsenic Wildfire, which premiered successful 2020, Danika appeared successful the BBC Three drama Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope.  

Danika was 1 of 4 children McGuigan had with his woman Sandra — including sons Shane, Jake and Blain. 

The puerility sweethearts joined successful December 1981 and their narration was hugely important due to the fact that McGuigan is simply a Catholic and Sandra has a Protestant background. 

Reflecting connected their relationship, which started during The Troubles, McGuigan said successful 2008: "I retrieve feeling a work to make a harmonious situation: I wasn't going to origin immoderate much occupation and strife.” 

All 3 of McGuigan’s sons person followed him into boxing. Shane, 36, is simply a trainer who has worked with renowned fighters specified arsenic David Haye and Carl Frampton. He has 2 young sons of his own. 

Shane thanked his dad's campmates for their enactment connected Monday, penning connected Instagram: "Thank you to each the different campmates supporting dad. We admit it immensely."

Shane and Jake, 32 — known for his enactment with the McGuigan family's boxing promotion company, Cyclone Promotions, which manages respective fighters — appeared successful the 2024 BBC documentary Stable: The Boxing Game. This chronicled beingness successful the McGuigans’ boxing stable.

Blain, 31, besides works for Cyclone Promotions. He focuses connected its business, overseeing assorted aspects of the company's operations, including lawsuit organisation and promotion.

Blain stays retired of the nationalist oculus and is little progressive successful the media than immoderate of his household members.