Inside Danny Jones’ 18-year rift with estranged dad… panic attacks, wedding snub & why Barry McGuigan is ‘healing’ him
DANNY Jones has been without a father figure for nearly two decades - now it appears he’s found one in Barry McGuigan.
Last night, Oti Mabuse, 34, noted the bond that had developed between the pair, commenting on how they’d formed a parent-child relationship.
She said: "Their relationship is beautiful to watch, and you can see Barry is the dad Danny has been yearning for his whole, entire life."
Her observation came as Danny, 38, and Barry, 63, performed Johnny Be Good together in the Jungle Arms last night
And it comes after Danny emotionally told the camp: “I've also found a dad. I love you all.”
Barry also appeared emotional and the pair embraced after the revelation.
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Later in the bush telegraph he confided: “It's lovely that he feels that I am a fatherly figure.”
Relationship expert Jo Hemmings reckons the bond formed between the two men during I'm A Celeb, is helping to heal both of them.
“They’re both filling a void of emotional longing with each other,” Jo said.
“It’s been really beautiful to watch this deep connection form as they’re emotionally healing from their different types of grief.”
Danny has been estranged from his father Alan Jones, 72, for 18 years, which he has struggled with.
And Barry lost his daughter Danika McGuigan, 33, in 2019 just five weeks after she was diagnosed with bowel cancer, leaving the Irish boxer devastated.
The Irish boxer is had also opened up about a previous tragedy, when he lost his brother, Dermot, to suicide when he was 34 years old.
“Both men are able to process their grief through this strong bond that they’ve formed,” Jo commented.
“They have a real empathy and understand what it is like to have a broken family connection.
I feel as though he's painted himself into a corner and he doesn't know how to get out
Alan Jones, Danny's dad
“Barry is able to tap into his nurturing and parental side, while Danny is probably finding stability and wisdom in Barry.
“I don’t think either of them went looking for it. It’s not like anything I’ve ever seen on reality TV before.”
It’s likely to be hard viewing for Danny’s dad Alan, who lost connection with his son and daughter, Vicky, after a bitter divorce from their mum Kathy.
“I think because he loves his mum so much he's protected her, and I think any reunion with me, and this is only my opinion, would upset his mum. I don't think he wants to do that and I understand that.”
Bittersweet viewing
He wasn’t invited to Danny’s wedding to Georgia Horsley in 2014, and he also hasn't met his grandson, Cooper, six.
Jo reckons watching the paternal bond developing in I’m A Celeb will be painful for Alan to watch, but also bittersweet, as he’ll be happy for Danny.
“I think he’ll recognise that the estrangement is a situation he created with Danny,” she said.
“There will likely be a part of him that will think it is lovely to see (Danny's bond with Barry) but a large part will feel brutalized by it.
“He may well wish Danny was connecting with him like that.
"But it’ll be bittersweet because Danny is coming across really well - although that’s not down to Alan.”
Alan left ex-wife Kathy in 2005 when Danny was 19 years old and already enjoying a string of hits with McFly.
His father’s abrupt exit left the singer struggling with anxiety and panic attacks.
In 2022, he told podcast White Wine Question Time: "I had a massive bout of anxiety when I was 19, when my dad left.
"It's hard for a kid because you crave that [stability] and you miss it.
Panic attack hell
"But I feel like I've become way more of a man than I'd ever be before because I've learned a lot from it.
"I've achieved so much, and it's made me hungrier, and I'm not scared of stuff. I've become stronger."
Danny shared with his camp mates that he has been attending therapy since his parents split back in 2005.
He also shared his experience of having a panic attack live on television.
Danny said: “I was freaking out and I couldn’t answer the question that got asked to me.
“My heart rate goes crazy, I went white and I felt like I was going to puke.”
He was then asked by campmate Jane Moore if his mental health troubles stemmed from childhood or the pressures of being in McFly, Danny admitted: “I think I escaped a lot.”
Revealing he hadn't had an anxiety attack since 2013, Danny said: “At times it was so horrible.
"I experienced claustrophobia, coming out in cold sweats, feeling a band tightening around my chest and worrying I was having a heart attack.
"It’s so scary and I’ve felt like I was dying on occasions. You can’t believe your body can do that to you. I was also plagued with dark thoughts I couldn’t control."
Family regrets
His parent’s divorce was extremely bitter and it’s something Alan now regrets.
He told the Daily Mail: “It was quite a bitter divorce that dragged on far too long.
"It could have been resolved a good few thousand pounds earlier."
It is also something Danny seems to regret, as he didn’t try to maintain a relationship with his dad.
“It was hard,” he said on White Wine Question Time.
“I wish I knew what I knew now, to just have a chat with him at the time.
Barry's tragic loss
BARRY has also been opening up to his camp mates about struggling with the death of his daughter and her earlier health worries.
Replying to a question from Dean McCullough, 32, about attending church he said: “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 fought back and she won it. She had two years of chemo.”
He was comforted by Danny and N-Dubz star Tulisa Contostavlos, 36, after breaking down in tears.
Prior to going into the jungle, he told Belfast Live “I’ll never get over it” when discussing his daughter’s death.
He added: “My life will go on but I’ll never be the same because family means everything to me.
"She was such a great kid. She had a tough life all her life. She had fever convulsions at nine months; she was dead on arrival at the hospital and they got her heart going again; she had leukaemia at 11, they said she would never get through it and she got through it.
"I get very upset about it. I try my best not to. I think, ‘I don’t want to cry again.’ But, yeah, tough. Very tough.”
"But I was an absolute peacemaker, I was scared of emotion. I was scared of talking real, real talk, because I wanted everything to be perfect."
Alan married his second wife Sharon in 2007 - a year after starting to date - and the pair moved to Benidorm in 2016.
And it is Sharon who has been encouraging Alan to try to keep in touch with his children.
“To be quite honest, at one point I was treating this as a lost cause, and it was Sharon that kept making me send the birthday cards, Christmas cards, but she doesn't want anything to do with the relationship outside of me,” he said.
I always keep my fingers crossed that one day it will happen, but Danny is in charge of that, not me
Alan Jones, Danny's dad
And it has yielded results. While Alan has never met his grandson Cooper, he has been sent a photo by Danny.
He said: “I sent Danny a message and wished him happy birthday and he sent me a cracking picture back of Cooper with his birthday cake.
“I always keep my fingers crossed that one day it will happen but Danny is in charge of that, not me.
“I can't just fly back to England and say 'Hi, I'm here', that's too much for him. I think one day, you know, I always hope it will happen.”
Despite having not seen Danny in person in 18 years, Alan is holding hopes that the pair will one day reconcile.
Healing influence
And Jo reckons Barry could be a key player in helping Danny and his dad heal that relationship.
She said: “I think Barry could have a deep conversation with Danny about his father and encourage him to reach out.
“He could talk about how important it is for Cooper to know his grandad and Danny to not fully lose his dad.
“He’s got a very kind and generous spirit and only wants the best for Danny. I think it could help mend that relationship, too.”
Alan has shared that he plans to reach out to his son when his stint in the Jungle comes to an end.
He added: “'At the end of the day I can sleep at night, I know he's okay, he's safe…
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“But I would like to think if anything bad happened, like an accident or something, that someone would message me to let me know, and I don't know if that would happen…
“But hopefully one day we'll have that pint, sooner rather than later, time's getting on.”