Tragic TV presenter Jonnie Irwin has claimed A Place In The Sun bosses axed him after he told them he had terminal cancer.
The 49 year old, who has three sons with wife Jessica, has said that his contract wasn't renewed and he was "paid off" when he was diagnosed in the middle of the series.
Jonnie has said that it "broke [his] heart".
The presenter revealed to the public earlier this month that he had been given just six months left to live after his lung cancer had spread to his brain.
He had his first warning sign while he was filming A Place In The Sun in August 2020 in Italy when his vision became blurry while he was driving.
It was within that week of flying back from filming that he had been given the terminal diagnosis.
Speaking to The Sun, Jonnie claimed that after he revealed his diagnosis to bosses he was axed from the show.
Breaking down in tears, he said: "As soon as people find out you’ve got cancer they write you off. Yes, I have stage four and it’s terminal — but not yet, so let me live my life while I can.
“As soon as I told A Place In The Sun about my diagnosis they paid me for the rest of the season but didn’t renew my contract. They knew I wanted to carry on.
“That hurt. That broke my heart. I feel hugely let down. I can’t even watch the show now.”
The Mirror has reached out to Channel 4 for comment.
Jonnie continued to work through his chemotherapy treatment and filmed BBC's Escape To The Country while working on other projects.
Explaining about why he decided to keep his diagnosis quiet for two years, he admitted it was because he was worried about losing anymore work.
Referring to himself as a "family man", he said that he needed to keep a roof over the heads of his children - three-year-old son Rex and two-year-old twins Cormac and Rafa - and wife.
Saying that work was "really important" to him, he explained that it stops him from thinking about the cancer.
“Even though I look thinner and I’m without hair, Escape to the Country and A Place In The Sun Ltd, which runs the show’s exhibitions, have employed me and I’ve been so impressed by them," he continued.
"But I didn’t get that support from A Place In The Sun. I told them I wanted to work. When I said I can get you doctor notes and assurances from my oncologist that I am fit to work, I was told, verbatim, ‘Oh, you really don’t want to go down that route, do you?’
“They said, ‘We don’t think we can get the insurance’, not ‘We can’t get the insurance’, but, ‘We don’t think . . . ’ That broke my heart and affected my mental health."
He went on to say that "within weeks" someone else was doing his job and he felt that he "earned a bit more from them after 18 years".
A spokesperson for Freeform Productions said: "Jonnie has been a hugely important part of the A Place in The Sun family for over 18 years and all of us were deeply saddened by his diagnosis.
"Much loved by everyone on the production, no stone was left unturned in trying to enable Jonnie to continue his international filming with us during Covid but the production company were unable to secure adequate insurance cover for him. Whilst we were unable to continue to film abroad with him, we’re delighted that he was able to remain as part of our team in the UK for exhibitions. We of course understand how frustrating this must be for him at this incredibly difficult time."
