This year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here stars have shared many vulnerable moments with each other, and tonight’s episode was no exception.
McFly star Danny Jones, 38, opened up to Oti Mabuse about the absence of his dad and the impact that’s had on him before going on to label campmate Barry McGuigan his “father figure”.
It came as Jones shared with Mabuse how he wanted to change his middle name, Alan.
Revealing the reason, he explained: “My dad, he doesn’t speak to me.”
He went on to say he didn’t want to talk about it before detailing: “It’s just weird because I don’t feel I’ve really healed with it maybe.”
“But you say you went to therapy?” Mabuse pointed out.
Danny Jones reflected on his relationship with Barry McGuigan
ITV
“I did, but you can go to therapy, but you still crave your dad and that’s what’s hard. That’s why I get so much satisfaction out of Barry.”
“I can see that and that’s why he’s so protective over you, like a scorpion,” Mabuse replied.
Speaking in the Bush Telegraph, she continued: “I know that Danny and Barry’s relationship is very special, they’ve come to a point where they love each other and they need each other now.
“It’s nice to know that not only are you going to leave with a brilliant experience but you’re going to leave here with friends and family for life.”
Danny opened up about his father’s absence in his life
ITV
Opening up tothe former Strictly Come Dancing star, Jones admitted: “I had a good relationship with my dad, he was my best mate until he left. I got on with my dad, I loved him to bits.”
“And you guys were best friends?” Mabuse probed.
“He was amazing yeah, we went to see Bolton Wanderers every weekend, got a Maccy Ds before, I’ve got great memories,” Jones reflected.
“He was a hugger, he was a kisser and then when he left us, that’s when I had to grow up real fast, I bought my mum’s house.
“I was 18 years old, I bought myself a flat in London and I bought my mum’s house, and I put my sister through university.”
“In a way McFly became your dad, they took care of you,” Mabuse observed.
Barry McGuigan and Danny Jones have become close on I’m A Celebrity
ITV
Jones agreed: “Those boys, they’re amazing, I can talk to any of them.”
Speaking to cameras in the Bush Telegraph about McGuigan, Jones explained: “I think the world of Barry, he’s amazing and we’ve been through this whole experience together.
“It’s just nice having someone older than you that does replace that kind of fatherly figure.
“Just to put his arm around you and have your back. I’ve not had that feeling for a while.”