A Place in The Sun presenter Jonnie Irwin has spoken candidly about his terminal cancer diagnosis and admitted there have been a couple of close calls.
The Leicestershire born star, 49, was given just six months to live when he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, which has since spread to his brain, in August 2020, and publicly shared his prognosis in November.
During a new interview with the OneChat podcast with AIG Life, he opened up about the moment that changed his life forever and then having to deliver the devastating news to his wife Jessica, with whom he shares three young sons.
He said: “The programme is to try and remain positive. Positive for me is burying my head in the sand a bit.
“Jess and I don’t talk about it much and we’ve been close to death’s door a few times now. Twice at least.”
He explained how he had been filming A Place In The Sun in Italy when he suddenly noticed “weird gold spots” while he was driving.
A crew member, who was with him at the time, took him to the hospital where medics told him there were nodules around his brain.
He said: “Within a few hours I got told I had cancer. And I was like ‘right.’
“Then a few hours later, my good friend Rahul was sat with me when they said it is terminal cancer and I had six months to live.
“Do you ever hear the phrase it knocked the wind out of you? Nothing had ever done that to me and it did it. I was just battered.”
He recalled telling his wife “I’m not going to be here any more” when breaking the news to her.
He added: “How do you tell a woman who only two months before has had twins? How do you tell them that you’re not going to be there any more?
“I can remember it like it was yesterday. I’ve got no memory since I’ve had brain therapy but that b****y memory stays in my head and it is brutal.”
