I'm A Celeb star Danny Jones' father walked out on his family

Danny Jones' father walked out on his family when the I'm A Celebrity star was 19 - and nearly two decades on the singer still hasn't forgiven him.

The McFly frontman, 38, admits he used to 'idolise' his father Alan while he was growing up but that all changed when he split from his mum Kathy - just as his band had hit the big time.

The guitarist says he remained close to his mum and he went into therapy over his father's sudden decision to leave, which makes him feel 'angry' every Father's Day.

Danny, who is married to former Miss England Georgia Horsley, 37, and they share a son Cooper, six, has yet to patch things up with Alan in the years since their relationship broke down.

'I had a massive bout of anxiety when I was 19 when my dad left,' he said.

'I feel sorry for any kid out there whose mum and dad have split up.

'It's their responsibility, they chose to have the kids, so they've got to be adult about it and stay in touch.

'It's hard for a kid because you crave that and you miss it 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 not scared of stuff, I've become stronger.'

Asked if he had a good relationship with his dad, Danny replied: 'I did do, not really since I was 19, no, which is a shame because we were good pals.

'When I've seen my mum in so much pain, it was hard.

'I wish I knew what I knew now, to have a chat with him at the time.

'But I was a peacemaker, an absolute peacemaker.

'I was scared of emotion, I was scared of talking real talk because I wanted everything to be perfect, if they argued I was like 'no, be quiet'

'What I try and teach my son now is that emotions are ok, show me your emotions I want to feel it, because that is the best way of solving anything.'

Speaking on the White Wine Question Time podcast in 2022, he added: 'On Father's Day I'm angry that's getting in the way of me having a good time with my family and my son.

'I idolised him, and my mum, they're my first people I looked up to.'

Danny previously admitted he had therapy sessions to cope with anxiety sparked by triggers surrounding his dad abandoning him.

His McFly band-mate Tom Fletcher recommended a therapist who helped him with his own bipolar disorder.

Danny said: 'Tom recommended a guy he saw for his bipolar. I went to therapy four times. I saw someone who told me to breathe out a bit.

'They explained what was actually happening to my body. You don't understand your own brain.'

He added: 'It's a lonely feeling. It's like having a massive shopping list of worries. If someone reminded me of my dad, that would trigger it.'

Danny also sought the solace of bandmate Dougie Poynter, whose father also left him as a child. The pair co-wrote McFly track The Ballad of Paul K about their shared experiences.

Danny revealed he found out his parents were splitting when McFly were shooting a movie in the US.

He went on: 'I was in McFly, doing a movie with Lindsay Lohan in New Orleans, then I had this crushing news that my home life was about to be destroyed.

'I didn't know how to cope. My stability had gone. Your first idols are your mum and dad, and when they break up you realise the magic has gone. I went through a few years of feeling lost.'

He added: 'It's a shame with my dad.

'I chose not to speak to him because of how much pain I felt at the time.

'He's still my dad at the end of the day, but it's still difficult. 'Being a dad myself, I now know what being one takes.'

Danny, who also has an older sister called Vicky, 40, who is also a singer and previously auditioned on The Voice, admits he has spoken to his dad in recent years, but had to wait until Alan got in touch.

Back in 2017 he said: 'If you're a dad then it's your job to do it. It shouldn't be my job to do it. It's his.

'He decided to have me.'

After his parents' divorce and estrangement from his father, Danny found stability in the shape of his wife Georgia.

The pair started dating in 2009 and married in 2014, with their son Cooper arriving four years later.

They met two years before Georgia was named Miss England 2007 and went on to represent the country in that year's Miss World.

The model is deaf in one ear and has taken part in various campaigns supporting people struggling with deafness.

Georgia kept her disability a secret when she competed in the beauty contests.

Danny is a familiar face to TV viewers due to his coaching role on The Voice and The Voice Kids, plus he's also appeared on The Masked Singer, Celebrity MasterChef and Pop Star to Operastar.

Indeed, following his 2024 series winning performance as Piranha on The Masked Singer, Danny went viral after he shared footage of his son's reaction to him being unmasked on the show during a watchalong at home.

But he's best known for being part of the band McFly, who've achieved six UK No1 singles and six Top Ten albums in their 20-year career.

Danny, who grew up in Bolton, Lancs, joined McFly having attempted to audition for boyband V where he met future band-mate Tom Fletcher, 39, who was working as a songwriter for the group.

He was accompanied to the audition by his mum Kathy, who runs a hairdressing business.

But he claims Kathy burst out laughing when she saw him attempt a dance routine, as he did not know V was going to be a classic boyband - not one that played instruments.

Danny and Tom became pals and after discovering a shared interest in rock music and writing for Busted, they formed their own band alongside bassist Dougie, 36. and drummer Harry Judd, 38 - who were recruited through an advert Danny and Tom had placed in NME magazine.

McFly's popularity has been expressed in the band members' reality show appearances, with Harry winning Strictly Come Dancing and Dougie crowned King of the Jungle in 2011. Even Tom's wife Giovanni, 39, won the show in 2020 when the ITV1 series shot in a Welsh castle during the series Covid-enforced break from Australia.

Danny impressed viewers during Sunday night's series opener when he managed to keep his composure after a snake slid into his shorts while taking part in the first Bushtucker Trial alongside boxer Barry McGuigan, 63.

He's currently the bookies' favourite to win the 2024 series.

On why Danny signed up for this year's show, he said: 'I felt very privileged to be asked to do it. This is an amazing opportunity. I had time in the diary, which was insane. I'll never get the opportunity again.'