I'm A Celeb star Danny Jones' 'estranged' dad reveals details about 18-year long rift

McFly star Danny Jones' estranged father has opened up about his strained relationship with his son which he says fell apart when he got divorced from his mother

I'm A Celeb star Danny Jones' 'estranged' father has opened up on their 18 year long rift.

Alan Jones, 72, has admitted that he feels it was his divorce from Danny's mother Kathy that ruined his relationship with his son. Alan described Danny as having a "heart of gold" while revealing he has never met his six-year-old grandson Cooper but hopes "one day it will happen."

Alan was not present at either Danny or his sister Vicky's weddings and he says Danny has never been to visit him in Benidorm where he moved to in 2016. The radio host confessed things started to go wrong in his marriage when both Danny and Vicky had moved out of home in the early 2000s.

He told MailOnline: "It should have been a time where the marriage got a bit closer, but it didn't. I can't explain why but it didn't, so we had two very bad years, and in fact, Danny saw this with his sister and they wrote a song about it… and then I met Sharon and that was it."

Alan left the family in 2005 when Danny was 19. The McFly star has previously admitted he sought therapy for anxiety over the incident and viewers of I'm A Celeb saw him break down in tears earlier this week as his discussed his mental health with his campmates.

Alan met his current wife Sharon as friends in 2004, a year prior to walking out on Danny, Kathy and Vicky. He recalled: "This sounds strange, but I used to hang out with a gang of girls who were worse than the blokes, and Sharon was part of that group.

"We used to go out and get drunk in the town, it was good fun, and me and Sharon got closer and closer." He then detailed how he and Sharon became intimate the same night McFly made a cameo appearance on Casualty in January 2005.

He explained how it "was the night that Danny was on Casualty, that was the night we actually got together," adding that he was "sitting in the pub watching on my own, then all the girls came in and we went into town afterwards and that was it."

Alan and Kathy split later that year and he went on to marry Sharon in 2007. He explained how their divorce was "bitter" and that it "dragged on far too long," and "could have been resolved a good few thousand pounds earlier." Alan then cited Danny's close relationship with his mum as the reason why their bond fell apart.

He said: "I feel as though he's painted himself into a corner and he doesn't know how to get out. I think because he loves his mum so much he's protected her, and I think any reunion with me, and this is only my opinion, would upset his mum, and I don't think he wants to do that, and I understand that."

However, Danny recently said if his father wanted to speak to him he should make the first move. He told the Star on Sunday: "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."

Danny also previously addressed the subject on the White Wine Question Time podcast in 2022. He admitted that he would "idolise" his dad as a child, but that it all changed when he left. Danny revealed that he still gets "angry" every father's day and confessed his anxiety issues were sparked by Alan leaving.

Danny has never met Sharon and it seems Alan's wife has no intention of ever trying to be a part of his son's life as he admitted "at one point I was treating this as a lost cause, and it was Sharon that kept making me send the birthday cards, Christmas cards," however he added that "she doesn't want anything to do with the relationship outside of me."

He also admitted that Danny has not snubbed him entirely and appears to keep the door open for communicating with him, stating: "I sent Danny a message and wished him happy birthday and he sent me a cracking picture back of Cooper with his birthday cake.

"I always keep my fingers crossed that one day it will happen, but Danny is in charge of that, not me. I can't just fly back to England and say 'Hi, I'm here', that's too much for him. I think one day, you know, I always hope it will happen."

Alan says the "last time I shook Danny's hand was about 18 years ago," adding that "hopefully one day we'll have that pint, sooner rather than later, time's getting on." He also admitted he hopes to reach out to Danny when he exits the I'm A Celeb jungle as he heaped praise on his son.

He called Danny an "amazing guy" claiming to have "followed what he's been doing since I left home and I've supported him and stuck up for him if anyone said a bad word." He concluded: "No matter what the outcome, I will tell him 'you've come across as a great guy', which he is, he's a lovely lad with a heart of gold."

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