A Place In The Sun star Jonnie Irwin had his first TV interview since revealing he has terminal cancer.
The 49-year-old joined Susanna Reid and Ben Shepherd on Good Morning Britain today to talk about why he decided to keep his cancer a secret and said he was worried that people would treat him differently, or he would lose work.
Jonnie had been given just six months left to live in 2020 after his lung cancer had spread to his brain, but he decided not to tell anyone about it and try to continue on as normal.
He said: "When people find out you've got cancer - I mean, I know what I felt when I just heard the words - it's just this terrifying thing, the word cancer, and I thought if I feel like that, everybody will feel like that.
"And low and behold, I lost some work through it. I wanted to keep it a secret because professionally, I didn't want to lose work. Socially and emotionally too, people treat you differently and people start making decisions for you."
Jonnie added: "If I withheld that information, I found I could live a normal life right up until a year ago."
The father-of-three said that when his appearance started to change, "busybodies" began questioning him which meant he felt he couldn't keep it a secret anymore. He recalled one man who came up to him and said his wife 'said he was too thin'.
He admitted people kept telling him to see doctor as he "didn't look well" on social media.
Jonnie also says A Place In The Sun axed him after his cancer diagnosis. The production company said the reason for it was that they weren't able to get insurance for the presenter to travel to the various locations for filming and they left 'no stone unturned', but Jonnie said he felt they didn't fight enough for him.
He said: "I feel massively aggrieved. My point was, I could work on Escape To The Country, that's the same show albeit better. I can travel away from home for three to four days and when I was told I couldn't do A Place In The Sun because they didn't think they could get insurance, it just broke my heart. I didn't think they fought for me."
Jonnie went on to say that losing the job he had for 18 years really affected his mental health. He said: "I've been bowled over by some people in their desire to help me and to help me earn money for my family. Not working on A Place In The Sun affected my mental health.
"You get cancer and all the things associated with it - and then suddenly you get axed. Being a TV presenter almost defines you and not being able to travel and do what I think I'm pretty good, and not being able to provide for my family. Every show that I do now is money for my family and their future."
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