ITV I'm A Celebrity star Barry McGuigan addresses being 'exempt' from Bushtucker Trials

Barry McGuigan, 63, has issued a stern response on whether age will stop him doing ITV I'm A Celebrity trials. McGuigan is a former boxer who won the world featherweight title with a famous victory over title holder Eusebio Pedroza in London in 1985.

Born in Clones, County Monaghan, McGuigan was credited with uniting both Catholic and Protestant fans in support at the height of the Troubles. He told ITV that he adopts a similar role as a boxing coach and hopes to bring that to the jungle. “I'm the consoler when the guys have a hard day in the gym... I put my arm around their shoulder and say: ‘Listen, that's just the way it is. Tomorrow will be different’,” he explained.

“It can be physically arduous, but it's the psychological part of it that I want to conquer before I get too old,” he revealed. The former boxer continued: “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.”

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McGuigan declared: “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.” He said: “It might be disgusting, and you might be tired but being a fighter (means) 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.”

“I fought relentlessly, I just used to track my opponents, so l was called The Clones Cyclone. It's something that's stuck with me. I hope it helps me with this,” he said. On his potential success in the competition, McGuigan explains that he would “like to do well”.

“I'm not saying I'm going to win, but l'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.” He said: “Maybe as I'm getting older, I'm getting more irritable, It's just a natural thing, an age thing. I'm more irritable than I was 30 or 40 years ago, put it that way.”