It's that time of the year again - no not the club championships, I'm a Celebrity get me out of here is back on televisions across the country.
This year is jam-packed with Irish contestants, with Northern Irish radio DJ Dean McCullough, Irish boxing legend Barry McGuigan and Mullingar's Maura Higgins all set for a stint Down Under.
Both McGuigan and McCullough have already kicked off their time Down Under, with McGuigan taking part in the season's first bush-tucker trial on Sunday evening. Meanwhile, former Love Island star Maura Higgins is being held back from taking the camp by storm due to a late arrival.
While Coleen Rooney might be the most star-studded member of this year's cast, last night, all eyes were on Barry McGuigan as the boxing promoter opened up about the tragic death of his late daughter Danika McGuigan.
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Barry McGuigan opens up about tragic passing of daughter
Barry's daughter Danika McGuigan was only 33 when she died of Bowel Cancer, just five weeks after receiving the diagnosis in 2019. As well as her short battle with cancer, the actress had also fought a much more prolonged battle with Leukaemia growing up, something that McGuigan opened up about on Monday's show.
On just the second night of the show, McGuigan recalled just how difficult losing a child is, revealing he stopped going to church after the death of his daughter, a conversation which reduced both McGuigan and his campmates to tears.
I used to go to church a lot but after my daughter… you know, not so much
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 did, she fought back and she won it. She had two years of chemo, but she was good and she came back.
— I'm A Celebrity... (@imacelebrity) November 18, 2024
Fortunately for McGuigan, his honesty was met with an outpouring of love from his campmates who rallied around him, despite Barry feeling like a 'prick'.
I feel such a prick, you know? Five years.
I tried to talk about it but no matter what I do, it just all comes back. Those horrible weeks in hopsital, just watching her. It was shocking.
You're all so lovely, I really appreciate it.
Just as his campmates were, the British public was left in awe by McGuigan's raw honesty when Monday night's show aired, with plenty taking to social media to applaud the Monaghan man.
Barry McGuigan is an inspiration to so many men, young and old, who may be struggling with their mental health and feel lost.
If a hardened boxer can express his feelings, so can you #ImACeleb— Mike Kavanagh (@MikeRobinKavs) November 18, 2024
Barry McGuigan must be one of the most genuine and modest blokes in the world. #ImACeleb
— Charlie (@AVFCCharlie) November 18, 2024
Respect to Barry McGuigan, nobody should ever feel the need to apologise for crying, tough watch that 💙
— Billy Cove (@BillyCove10) November 18, 2024
After her passing, Nakita McGuigan was awarded the Best Actress award at the IFTAS for her role in Wildfire which was only released following her death.
Wildfire was just one of the 33-year-old's accomplishments before her passing, with the Newry native also appearing in shows like BBC Three's Can't Cope, Won't Cope and award-winning movie Philomena.
