He has captured the nation’s hearts with his outpouring of grief on I’m A Celebrity over losing his daughter to bowel cancer at 33.
And now Barry McGuigan has won votes from arguably the most powerful of backers – Parliament.
Canterbury MP, Rosie Duffield has told MailOnline: ‘I’m really proud to support my constituent Barry McGuigan on I’m A Celebrity.
‘He’s shown his true character while in camp, working hard and supporting the other campmates.
‘He is a keen supporter of local charities such as our Food Bank and is a well-liked and respected member of my constituency.’
The Independent MP has been catching up with I’m A Celeb at the weekends when she has some downtime from Parliament.
Barry McGuigan has won votes from arguably the most powerful of backers – Parliament
Canterbury MP, Rosie Duffield has told MailOnline: ‘I’m really proud to support my constituent Barry McGuigan on I’m A Celebrity’
It comes after Ms Duffield, 53, resigned from the Labour Party in September and in her resignation letter, she criticised Starmer’s ‘cruel and unnecessary policies’, “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice”, and ‘hypocrisy’ over his acceptance of gifts.
She has since spoken out about feeling unsupported by the Labour Party in the past over her views on trans issues and did not attend the 2021 Labour Party conference after online threats to her safety following a row over transgender rights.
Last month, Ms Duffield complained that Sir Keir Starmer offered her ‘no apology’ when the two finally spoke after she told a whip she had not been talked to in two-and-a-half years.
Ms Duffield has been the MP for Canterbury since 2017 and hopes to be re-elected.
Barry McGuigan and his family left their home in Clones in the border regions of Northern Ireland and moved to Kent in 1987.
Explaining the move, he said: ‘It was after I had lost my title against Stevie Cruz in Las Vegas, the year my father died, that I decided to move the family to England. It was a bit of a wrench.
‘I’ve been back to see the [Clones] house several times. The roads are no longer barricaded and now I’m involved in integrated education, which is the way forward.
‘It’s important to me that there is harmony and bonding between people.’
Rosie added: ‘He’s shown his true character while in camp, working hard and supporting the other campmates’ (Barry pictured with Tulisa)
‘He is a keen supporter of local charities such as our Food Bank and is a well-liked and respected member of my constituency’
The professional boxing promoter lost his actress daughter, Danika, to breast cancer in 2019 at the age of 33 and she was posthumously awarded an IFTA for her role in Wildfire.
She had previously overcome leukaemia as a child but succumbed to a more aggressive form of cancer later in life.
On August 2, 2019, Barry shared an old photo of himself and his daughter, paying an emotional tribute to Danika.
He wrote: ‘The most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do was to say goodbye to my amazing daughter Nika earlier this week.
‘She has been a shining light in our family’s lives for the past 33 years.
‘Nika was an extremely talented and inspirational young lady who radiated kindness and love.
‘Our hearts are broken and we know that life will never be the same again for us.
‘However, Nika lives on in so many parts of our lives which we are grateful for.
Barry lost his actress daughter, Danika, to breast cancer in 2019 at the age of 33 and she was posthumously awarded an IFTA for her role in Wildfire (pictured together in 2011)
‘I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who sent flowers, cards, Mass cards, Instagram messages, Facebook, Twitter, texts and email messages of condolences and support.
‘There are simply too many to answer individually so I want to use this opportunity to say a huge thank you to each and every one of you, the family greatly appreciate them.’
The father-of-four lived in Kent with his wife and childhood sweetheart, Sandra Mealiff, and their three sons at the time.
While Barry is Roman Catholic, Sandra is Protestant, and their interfaith love story took place with a backdrop of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and they were married by the age of 20.
In 2008, Barry told the Times: ‘I remember feeling a responsibility to create a harmonious situation: I wasn’t going to cause any more trouble and strife.
‘I was a Catholic Irishman fighting for the British title; my wife was a Protestant.
‘For the British title fight in 1983 [when Barry defeated Vernon Penprase for the featherweight belt], I wanted to wear neutral colours, so I decided on the UN flag colours of peace.
‘My dad sang Danny Boy, which became a unifying song.
‘It was crucial that people who came to see me fight didn’t feel threatened. I had amazing partisan support.’
