Jonnie Irwin, the English TV presenter, met a tragic death from cancer at the age of 50 on Friday, February 2. A Place in the Sun star is survived by his wife and three sons.
The news of Irwin's demise, following a three-and-a-half year battle with lung cancer, was shared on his Instagram handle with his friends and fans on Friday night.
The post had an old picture of Jonnie and his wife Jessica riding a motorcycle with a big smile on their faces.
“As we remember the beautiful moments shared with Jonnie, let us celebrate a life well-lived and a legacy that will forever be etched into our hearts. Jonnie may be gone from our sight, but his love, laughter, and memories will live on. Rest in peace, dear Jonnie. You will be dearly missed, but never forgotten," the caption read.
Irwin's wife pays devastating tribute: ‘Me and the boys still need you’
Meanwhile in a post on Instagram, Irwin's wife Jessica shared apicture of beaming Jonnie and penned an emotional tribute to her late husband, calling him "magical and most handsome man" and vowed to make him proud.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile in a post on Instagram, Irwin's wife Jessica shared apicture of beaming Jonnie and penned an emotional tribute to her late husband, calling him "magical and most handsome man" and vowed to make him proud.
{{/usCountry}}"Good night my favourite. Thank you for everything," she wrote
“I will always love you. The hardest day has come, a day I prayed wouldn’t come. It’s with all the the saddness in the world that I confirm Jonnie has passed away earlier today.
“His magical brain that continued to fight to the end has now gone to sleep. He has given me more than I could ever have wished for, 8 bonkers years of love and adventure and 3 amazing boys,” Jessica, who married Jonnie in 2016, added.
As tributes poured in, his former A Place In The Sun co-presenter Jasmine Harman shared some heart-touching words on social media.
“Jonnie Irwin - I will always remember the first time I heard your name. When I was doing a screen test for a new show, they said “we definitely want Jonnie, but we need to find another presenter,” she wrote while sharing a picture of them looking off towards a sunset.
In a post on X, Channel 4 said Irwin would be “greatly missed”. “Everyone at Channel 4 is deeply saddened by the news of Jonnie’s death,” it said. “Jonnie was a beloved presenter on A Place In The Sun for over 18 years. He helped realise the dreams of many on the show and inspired countless viewers to find their own place in the sun. Much loved by colleagues and audiences alike, he will be greatly missed.”
Rob Unsworth, head of BBC daytime and early peak commissioning, extended condolences, stating : “Jonnie Irwin was an extraordinary man and wonderful presenter. He brought such warmth and fun to Escape to the Country, where he was a firm favourite with not just viewers, but the production team too.
“More recently, he did some truly inspirational reports for Morning Live about his illness, tackling taboos around end-of-life care and wonderfully demonstrating the limitless positivity that he brought to everything he did.
“His kindness will be hugely missed by everyone he worked with and we are sending all of our thoughts to his family and friends at this sad time.”
Jonnie Irwin & his prolonged battle with cancer
Jonnie was only given six months to live when he initially diagnosed in August 2020. However, the presenter managed to survive far longer. The presenter's survivor includes his wife and their five-year-old son Rex and and two-year-old twins Cormac and Rafa.
Born in 1973, Irwin raised in Bitteswell, Leicestershire, and went to Community College and Lutterworth Grammar School before getting into real estate.
A Place In The Sun - Home Or Away, a Channel 4 program, was presented by Irwin and co-presenter Jasmine Harman in 2004 after they were picked from hundreds of applicants. The property show became an unexpected smash and was widely distributed.
After disclosing his diagnosis of lung cancer in 2022, Irwin, the host of A Place in the Sun, said that the show had fired him. Irwin spent eighteen years hosting the show, filming more than two hundred episodes throughout Britain. In 2011, Irwin also served as a host for The Renovation Game on Channel 4.
Irwin was also given the chance to host Dream Lives on Sale, a show on Sky1 where he assisted viewers in purchasing a business and leaving behind their previous lives, in 2011.
Irwin had an advantage in his acting career because of his practical expertise and experience in the real estate and property sector. In addition, he introduced Escape to the Perfect Town, a spin-off of the well-liked BBC real estate program Escape to the Country. Irwin had already presented multiple episodes of Escape to the Country before joining the spinoff.
In addition to being a TV host, Irwin was a writer, a lecturer, and an authority on real estate and business.