A Place In The Sun presenter Jonnie Irwin has opened up for the first since being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The 48-year old, who is also well known for his role on Escape To The Country, decided to go public with the tragic news in order to get the 'monkey off my back'.
The father-of-three revealed he was actually filming in Italy when he first realised something might be wrong. In August 2020 he had an episode of blurry vision whilst he was driving - with subsequent tests confirming he had developed lung cancer, which had spread to his brain.
In an emotional interview alongside his wife Jessica, Jonnie told Hello! magazine : "I don’t know how long I have left, but I try to stay positive and my attitude is that I'm living with cancer, not dying from it. I set little markers – things I want to be around for.
"I got into the habit of saying: 'Don't plan ahead because I might not be well enough.' But now I want to make plans. I want to make memories and capture these moments with my family because the reality is, my boys are going to grow up not knowing their dad and that breaks my heart."
After confirming he his terrible news on Instagram, pals, colleagues and celebrities alike were quick to offer their support to the Channel 4 star. with Homes Under The Hammer presenter Lucy Alexander commenting: "Jonnie. I get so much joy watching you & your boys on here. You’re one hellava flippin amazeballs presenter and I’m sending so soooo much love & strength."
Fellow Escape to the Country host Sonali Shah simply offered: "Love, always."
TV and radio personality Nikki Chapman added: "Love you guys so much."
Another pal wrote: "You made me laugh until I ugly-cried during your speech at Mark’s wedding, and I still remember our drive to Devon on a whim where we discovered Dolly Parton was a mutual guilty pleasure and shared bad break up stories (mine win btw).
"You’ve always brought a smile to the room, and energy to the car-park conga ;) Have missed seeing you since you moved, but have loved the pics and videos of the family on here. Keep smiling dude, we all love ya (from Mum and Dad too xx)."
A former colleague declared: "Jonnie, I can’t believe it! I’m so so sorry to read this, it was genuinely such a pleasure to work with you on Escape and never in a million years would I think I’d see this, it’s just so cruel, you’re such a gem! Sending so much love and strength to your family xxx."
And one of his former university lecturers said: "Hi Jonnie I'm so sorry to hear your news. You may remember me being one of your lecturers on your estate management degree at University of Central England and have loved watching your career in TV. Sending lots of love and best wishes to you and your family xx."
Jonnie, meanwhile, is now encouraging others to take out life insurance.
He added: "That has helped so much and when I leave this planet, I’ll do so knowing Jess and the boys are in a house that is fully paid off and there’s a bit of money in the bank for them to live off."
