I'm A Celebrity 2024: Barry McGuigan in, Maura Higgins OUT as line-up confirmed
The line-up for the 2024 edition of the show has been confirmed ahead of it going to air this coming Sunday
Former boxer Barry McGuigan is set to pull no punches as he’s been announced as part of this year’s I’m A Celebrity line-up.
The Irish star joins former Strictly star Oti Mabuse, Corrie star Alan Halsall, Loose Women’s Jane Moore, Radio 1 DJ Dean McCullough, N-Dubz Singer Tulisa Contostavlos, TV Presenter & DJ Melvin Odoom, TV Personality Coleen Rooney, podcaster and content creator GK Barry and McFly Star Danny Jones on the confirmed line-up for this year's show. Despite plenty of speculation she would be heading to the jungle, however, former Love Island star Maura Higgins is not part of the line-up.
Former boxing champion McGuigan is no stranger to taking on tough challenges and with one eye on getting to the ‘later stages’ of the show, both the physical and psychological aspects of the show appeal to him. He said: “It can be physically arduous, but it’s the psychological part of it that I want to conquer before I get too old.
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“I’m 63 now. I’d like to think I’m a young 63, but that doesn’t mean it’ll make any of these challenges easy. I’d rather do it when I’m 63, than 73, put it that way.”
Commenting on how he thinks he’ll do on the show, Barry said: “I’d like to do well. I’m not saying I’m going to win, but I’d like to be in there for a sustained amount of time so that I can get to know all of the guys in camp.”
With a nod to his boxing career and winning turn on Hell’s Kitchen, Barry thinks his role might fall into the category of referee: “I acted as a referee and appeaser in Hell’s Kitchen. But this is different. A whole different set of circumstances. It’ll be a challenge. I would imagine I’ll be one of the elders and you can look at that in a calming down way. I might get irritated. I really don’t know.”
He adds: “I’m the consoler when the guys have a hard day in the gym and they haven’t sparred particularly well. I put my arm around their shoulder and say, ‘Listen, that’s just the way it is. Tomorrow will be different’.
"So I go back to the ‘elder’ position. My age has taken me into that category now. I’d like to get a good experience out of it. I want to enjoy it. I’d be delighted to get to the later stages, put it that way.”
Asked if he’d refuse to do any of the Trials, Barry is quick to reject the suggestion: “I couldn’t refuse to do it. Once you’ve made the decision to get into I’m A Celebrity, you have to be willing to do everything. It might be disgusting and you might be tired, but being a fighter and being dedicated and committed to training and getting ready for fights… you have to go through hell, physically as well as psychologically. So, I know what I’m letting myself in for.”
“Listen, it might be very funny, me going, ‘Oh no, go on, you do it!’ There might be all of that. But at the end of the day I’m not going to refuse,” he added.
While he has had some success in the kitchen, Barry joked: “I still can’t cook! My fabulous wife does all of that for me. I’d be willing to help out. If nobody else can do it, I’d be happy to chip in. But I’m pretty good at cleaning. My wife and my three sons and my seven grandchildren come around, I end up doing the cleaning up. We’ve got a good old bit of team work going. I hope that we can create a team in the jungle.
"I hope we can create a good working environment. So people who are good at cooking, for example, get to do that. People who are good at cleaning up and tidying the place up, they come in and make it work well.”
Barry doesn’t have any specific phobias, but the lack of sweet treats is on his mind. He says: “That’ll be the biggest challenge of all, learning to cope without food, with very bland stuff to keep you going and for just putting in the calories so that could be the most difficult challenge.” Taking part, he says, will be a real ‘class in absence’.
He added: “It’s about being able to abstain from stuff and not allowing it to bother you or be overbearing.” His sons are backing him to take part, but did have some words of advice. Barry explains: “My sons, who I talk to all the time and ask for advice, I said, ‘Should I do this?’ They said, ‘Yeah, dad. You’ve got good discipline, you’re good with people and invariably you’ll be aggravated and irritated and annoyed, but you’ve got good forbearance. You’re good at handling stuff like that.'
"I’m hoping that I can do reasonably well and make a good account of myself. They also said, ‘Don’t pick your ears or pick your nose! And try not to use bad language’.”
Known throughout his career as The Clones Cyclone, the thought of potentially being able to take part in the Celebrity Cyclone is a welcome one.
Barry said: “I should be able to embrace it fairly well! Because of the way I fought, I fought relentlessly, I just used to track my opponents so I was called The Clones Cyclone. It’s something that’s stuck with me. I hope it helps me with this.”
‘I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!’ starts at 9pm Sunday November 17 on Virgin Media One and Virgin Media Play.
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