A Place In The Sun pays tribute to Jonnie Irwin after heartbreaking death at 50

02 February 2024 , 20:09

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A Place In The Sun pays tribute to Jonnie Irwin after heartbreaking death at 50

Jonnie Irwin's former employer A Place In The Sun has paid tribute to the presenter following his tragic death.

The TV star and dad-of-three died aged 50 following a terminal lung cancer diagnosis. His beloved wife Jess paid a heartbreaking tribute to her late husband as she shared the sad news. She said: "It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Jonnie’s passing. A truly remarkable soul, he fought bravely against cancer with unwavering strength and courage. Jonnie touched the lives of so many with his kindness, warmth, and infectious spirit."

Jess asked for privacy for Jonnie's family and added: "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." Jonnie's TV programme A Place In The Sun posted their own tribute.

A Place In The Sun shared their own tribute to Jonnie (instagram/@aplaceinthesunofficial)

Sharing a black and white photo of Jonnie, they said: "We are heartbroken. Jonnie was a much-loved part of the A Place In The Sun family for more than 18 years - he brought joy, wit and bundles of energy to the show. We will miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with Jess and the boys and the rest of the family."

In addition to hosting A Place in the Sun, Jonnie also frontedBBCproperty shows Escape to the Country and To Buy or Not to Buy and presented his own show on Sky One in 2011, Dream Lives for Sale, and later the same year, The Renovation Game on Channel 4. In 2022, after publicly disclosing his cancer diagnosis, Jonnie accused A Place in the Sun producers of axing him as presenter after 18 years due to his terminal illness.

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Jonnie broke the news of his lung cancer diagnosis to fans in November 2022, heartbreakingly admitting at the time that he 'didn't know how long' he had left to live, after first being diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2020, which went on to spread to his brain and result in a terminal diagnosis.

Jonnie went on to reveal he was going public with his diagnosis to "get the monkey off my back" and revealed he was actually filming in Italy when he first realised something might be wrong. In August 2020 he had an episode of blurry vision whilst he was driving - with subsequent tests confirming he had developed lung cancer, which had spread to his brain.

Devoted dad Jonnie leaves behind his wife Jessica, who he married in September 2016, and their three young children; Rex, three, and two-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac. Over the years, Jonnie often shared snippets of his and Jessica's blissful family life with their kids and clearly loved being a father.

The Macmillan Support Line offers confidential support to people living with cancer and their loved ones. If you need to talk, call us on 0808 808 0000.

Mia O'Hare