Popular Escape to the Country presenter Jonnie Irwin has revealed his ‘last wish’ in his battle against terminal cancer. The 49-year-old has been battling against the disease which started in his lungs and has spread to his brain.
This week he revealed that he’d been in a hospice as he was dealing with the pain and has now said that he wants to die “peacefully” at his Newcastle home. The ex A Place in the Sun star, who comes from Leicestershire, said that when the end comes he wants to be with his family.
He has been working hard to renovate his home in the north east so that his wife Jessica and his three young sons Rex, three, and two-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac can be near her family. He told HELLO!: “I really want to be at home and Jess is fine with that. And apparently, I’ll go peacefully when I do go. I’ll just require more and more sleep.”
The property expert was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in August 2020 and has since shared it has spread to his brain, adding he is unsure how long he has left to live. Speaking about going to the hospice he said: “I remove myself on a number of occasions because I’m not good to be around when I’m in pain. I’m like a bear with a sore head and I don’t want them to be around that.”
The presenter kept his cancer battle private for the past two years before he publicly announced the news. Jonnie has not yet told his young children about his diagnosis but wants to spend as much time with them as possible.
Earlier this year he revealed he celebrated his 50th birthday early saying: “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,” he recalled.
“I didn’t know the extent of the loyalty and generosity that my friends would exhibit.” Jonnie has said cancer had made playing with his sons more difficult. He said: “ 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.
“I always thought, ‘I’m an older dad but I’ll be leading from the front’ but I’m now at the back.”
The TV presenter previously said he received the first warning sign of his illness while he was filming A Place In The Sun in Italy in August 2020, when his vision became blurry while driving. Within a week of flying home, he was given six months to live.
However, he has defied the odds and last year opened up about his story to encourage others to make the most of every day.
