Barry McGuigan has revealed he’s already had conversations with I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! producers to avoid being ‘cancelled’ when he enters the Jungle.
The boxing legend will join the likes of Coleen Rooney, Oti Mabuse, Danny Jones, and Alan Halsall, Down Under when the reality show returns to screens this weekend.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Barry, 63, admitted his worries about offending one of his fellow campmates by saying something that isn’t ‘politically correct.’
However, he’s welcomed the chats with execs as he still has a lot to learn when it comes to addressing people in the correct way and refining his terminology.
Speaking in a new interview, the Irish athlete said it’s inevitable that campmates will clash at some point.
‘I’m sure there will be altercations, as it were, and people falling out. It’s simply impossible to be in a sort of pressurised environment like that for three weeks,’ he told The Mirror.
On what his role might be in those circumstances, Barry said he’d like to be the person who ‘would pour cold water over it and just cool it down.’
Barry, whose real name is Finbar, added: ‘I mean, it’s virtually impossible, with how the world is evolving, with all the politics that are involved in everyday life, it’s virtually impossible not to be occasionally politically incorrect.
‘I’ve just had a number of discussions this morning with the production people, so that you do your best not to offend people, or not to say something that would be… but you know, you’re always learning, you’re always trying, and as we evolve as human beings and as we interact and all of that, there are certain ways of saying things and certain ways that you don’t say things.’
The former BBC Sports Personality of the Year explained that his approach should he inadvertently offend anybody would be to ask them ‘how they would like [him] to address them.’
Keen to get things right, he said he ‘wants to hear it from them’, vowing to ‘do [his] best’.
‘But you know, am I going to put my hand on my heart and say I’ll go through the potentially three weeks without saying something politically incorrect? No, I can’t say I’ll do that. But of course, that’s always a possibility,’ he confessed.
Barry acknowledged that political correctness is ever-changing when it comes to ‘sex and race’, meaning there’s added pressure when ’10 to 12million people’ are tuning in from home.
‘It’s just trying to not hurt people’s feelings. I don’t want to do that,’ he declared.
If there were to be an ‘altercation’ this series, it wouldn’t be the first time I’m A Celeb has become embroiled in scandal.
Over recent years, the show has made headlines for the wrong reasons, having been criticised for signing politicians Matt Hancock and Nigel Farage.
In 2017, YouTuber Jack Maynard was forced to quit the show after just two days when allegations surfaced about him sending inappropriate messages to a 14-year-old fan, which he later apologised for, admitting he didn’t know she was underage.
The programme also garnered Ofcom complaints in 2009 when eventual winner Gino D’Acampo and Hollyoaks star Stuart Manning cooked a rat to solve their hunger issues, for which ITV had to pay a fine.
Despite being the oldest contestant this series, Barry has made it clear that he’s not ‘worried’ about his physical fitness levels.
He insisted he’s ‘in pretty decent condition’, so he’s willing to take on whatever the Jungle throws at him.
Barry will have to live with people from all walks of life when he begins his stint in camp, as his fellow campmates range in age, careers, and personalities.
There’s plenty of potential for unlikely friendships to form, as he gets to know the likes of podcaster GK Barry, radio DJ Melvin Odoom, Loose Woman Jane Moore, and rumoured latecomers Maura Higgins and Reverend Richard Coles.
All will be hoping to take that title of Jungle King or Queen, following in Sam Thompson’s footsteps after his 2023 win.
Watch I’m a Celebrity on ITV1 and ITVX, on Sunday at 9pm.
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