A Place in the Sun presenter Jonnie Irwin has offered a heartbreaking update on his cancer battle as he shares how the illness has affected his duties as a dad. The TV star revealed in November that he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and 'doesn't know how long he has left' to live.
The 49-year-old shared at the time that his lung cancer had spread to his brain and that doctors had told him he might only have six months left to live. He revealed the first warning sign of his illness came while he was filming A Place in the Sun in August 2020 in Italy, when his vision became blurry while driving.
"Within a week of flying back from filming, I was being given six months to live," he told Hello! Magazine. "I had to go home and tell my wife, who was looking after our babies, that she was on her own pretty much. That was devastating. All I could do was apologise to her. I felt so responsible."
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Jonnie has since been keeping his fans and followers updated on his journey with cancer and now, in a new interview with The Sun, he openly said: "I'm weak now, fragile and my memory is terrible… but I'm still here."
The Escape to the Country star, who also celebrated his 50th birthday early this week several months early, then explained: "I tried to play football with Rex the other day and was in goal and I couldn't get near the ball. It was so frustrating. I'm very sporty and suddenly it's just like…it was as if it was the first time I'd attempted football. I felt like a granddad. And that broke me a bit."
While his 50th birthday is not until November, Jonnie decided to celebrate it early with a huge bash with 170 friends and family. The dad-of-three said: "It was a great night. I chose a playlist with some great tunes from the 90s and 2000s and people came from all over the country and abroad.
"I didn’t know the extent of the loyalty and generosity that my friends would exhibit. I’ve been dumbfounded and spellbound by their support, as well as that of our families, who have been amazing." Jasmine Harman and ex-England cricketer Andrew Caddick were in attendance at the bash, which Jonnie says he held as he wanted "to do something to celebrate my birthday".
After making his diagnosis public last year, Jonnie credited "Jess and our boys" with helping him stay positive and focus on creating as many memories as he can with his family following his terminal diagnosis. The property expert and his wife Jessica, 40, tied the knot in September 2016 and have since gone on to welcome three children into the world together - Rex, four, and two-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac.
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