A Place in the Sun pays tribute to Jonnie Irwin leaving fans in floods of tears

06 February 2024 , 15:54

830     0

A Place in the Sun paid an emotional tribute to Jonnie Irwin (Image: Channel 4 / FFTV)

Jonnie Irwin's former TV show A Place In The Sun paid a heartbreaking tribute to the presenter.

The dad-of-three sadly died last week aged 50 following a terminal lung cancer diagnosis. He had worked on the Channel 4 property hunting show for over 18 years, before stepping away from work to receive treatment and spent time with his family. Jonnie's death was announced by his wife Jessica on Friday, as she released an emotional tribute.

A Place In The Sun also shared their own tribute to Jonnie on social media and have since dedicated an episode of the show to the star. On Monday (5 February), Channel 4 aired an episode presenter by Danni Menzies as she helped househunters in Manilva, Spain. At the start of the show, an announcement was made that it would be decided to Jonnie.

The Channel 4 show dedicated an episode to Jonnie (Channel 4)

A tribute was also aired after the credits. Jonnie's photo appeared on the screen alongside a message reading: "In memory of Jonnie Irwin 1973-2024." Viewers took to social media after the episode as one said: "Choking back tears at seeing Jonnie Irwin on his final show, and the tribute at the end! Rest well now Jonnie you fought the hard fight."

In their tribute on Friday, A Place In The Sun shared 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."

Escape to the Chateau's Dick and Angel give exciting news as fans beg for return

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. He broke the news of his lung cancer diagnosis to fans in November that year where he heartbreakingly admitting at the time that he 'didn't know how long' he had left to live. 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.

Jonnie had also worked on Escape to the County, who paid a tribute to the presenter during their episode on Monday. It was a special programme presented and recorded by Jonnie before his death. At the start of the show the voice narrator said: "We are heading to the Repair Shop in 45 minutes, but first a change to the billed Escape as we pay tribute to the late Jonnie Irwin here on BBC One." During the episode, Jonnie helped couple Janet and Brian find a home in Somerset.

Viewers took to social media during the episode as one said: "Going to be a sad watch but a nice tribute. I hope one day a cure is found for cancer so we don’t have to say goodbye too earlier R.I.P." Another added: "Lovely tribute to Jonnie Irwin." Someone else commented: "Nice touch BBC rescheduling #escapetothecountry with one featuring Jonnie Irwin." A fourth wrote: "Jonnie Irwin was so good at what he did. As well as being informative he had a great sense of humour. Such a sad loss."

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