Jonnie Irwin said, “My boys are going to grow up not knowing their dad and that breaks my heart. I’m now focusing on my remaining time with family.”
Jonnie Irwin, a popular television host, revealed that he has terminal cancer.
In a recent interview with Hello! magazine, the 48-year-old host of BBC’s Escape to the Country revealed that he had lung cancer that has spread to his brain. He told the publication, “I don’t know how long I have left,” and hoped that by sharing his tale, it would encourage people to “make the most of every day.”
Before moving on to work for Colliers International, Irwin worked for business transfer specialists Christie & Co, rising to the position of associate director in just three years.
Irwin and co-host Jasmine Harman were chosen from hundreds of candidates in 2004 to present Channel 4’s program A Place in the Sun – Home or Away, and have shot more than 200 episodes across Great Britain. Additionally, the show is shown each day on More4, Discovery Real Time, Discovery Travel & Living, as well as on stations in Europe and other countries like New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa.
In addition, Irwin hosts the BBC’s Escape to the Country and To Buy or Not to Buy. Irwin also presented the Escape to the Perfect Town spin-off of Escape to the Country.
Irwin’s own program, Dream Lives for Sale, which saw him assist people in leaving their lives in the UK and purchasing a business, was broadcast on Sky 1 in January 2011. Late in 2011, he started a brand-new Channel 4 morning show called The Renovation Game.
Irwin has provided business and real estate advice to clients for the past ten years on everything from small high street gift shops to multimillion dollar corporate hotel deals. He still maintains a real estate and business consulting firm.
Irwin regularly contributes to A Place in the Sun magazine. He also makes appearances at A Place in the Sun Live, where he gives presentations on his advice for purchasing property abroad. Irwin frequently serves as a host for seminars and business gatherings.
Irwin was initially identified with the condition in August 2020, after he began to feel driving vision blurriness while filming for Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun in Italy. The cancer was soon verified by a number of tests.
I was given six months to live within a week of landing from filming, he recalled, noting the effect it would have on his wife Jessica, 40, and their three children. The hardest thing I could do was apologize to my wife after having to go home and tell her that she was essentially on her own while caring for our children.
Irwin began treatment quietly and only disclosed his cancer to close friends and family. The property expert said that despite his attempts to keep his diagnosis a secret, he “felt like I was carrying a dirty secret, it’s become a monkey on my back.”
Irwin continued, “I hope that by shaking that monkey off, I might inspire people who are living with life-limiting prospects to make the most of every day and to show them that you can live a positive life, even though you are dying.
Irwin told the publication that he is attempting to concentrate on creating memories with his children, son Rex, 3, and twin sons Rafa and Cormac, 2, despite not knowing how much longer he has to live.
“This will eventually come up with me, but I’m doing all in my power to delay that day as long as I can. To Jess and our boys, I owe that “said he. While other people in my position have bucket lists, I just want our family to experience as much as we can.
Irwin stated, “My mentality is that I’m living with cancer, not dying from it. “I make small goals for myself that I want to achieve. I developed the practice of advising people not to make plans in advance because I might not feel good enough. I want to make plans immediately, though. My boys won’t grow up knowing their dad, and that breaks my heart, so I want to make memories and document these moments with my family.”
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