Jonnie Irwin attended the TRIC awards with fellow Escape to the Country stars in his ‘final months’.

The 49-year-old A Place in the Sun star announced in November he’d been diagnosed with terminal cancer, with the disease having spread from his lungs to his brain.

At the time, the presenter was told he could only have ‘months to live’ and has been enjoying spending time with his family – wife Jessica Holmes, and kids, Rex, four, and two-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac – since.

Now, it appears Jonnie is making some memories with his old colleagues from Escape to the Country; Nicki Chapman, Jules Hudson, and Sonali Shah.

The star looked at ease, as he smiled in a grey shirt, khaki jacket, and cool shades for the Television and Radio Industries Club awards, arm in arm with his friends.

Jonnie also posted a video from the event, in which Uptown Funk can be heard being played from the stage, seemingly by Fleur East.


Speaking at the event on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, he told The Mirror: ‘Today is a good day. Yesterday I peeled myself out of bed and munched painkillers but so far so good today.

‘I take every day as a gift and as it comes.’

The much-loved dad has shared health updates along the way, and recently spoke candidly about his terminal diagnosis just before he spent what will likely be his last Father’s Day with his children.

Speaking on the AIG Life’s The OneChat podcast, Jonnie recalled how telling his wife was ‘brutal’ and the memory lingers in his head.

He said: ‘That bloody memory stays in my head and it is brutal.

‘And all I can remember is hugging her and just saying sorry and I still feel sorry now.’


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The star also confessed he has not yet told his children about his fate, as he fears doing so could ‘confuse’ them.

He shared: ‘I keep being asked, “Are you going to tell them?” but tell them what?

‘It would be horrible news that they’d have to get their heads around. And it would confuse the hell out of Rex – he’s got a shocking enough day coming. Let’s bury our heads in the sand for as long as possible.’

Jonnie previously explained he initially kept his diagnosis a secret, for fear he would not be able to provide for his family.

Speaking on the same podcast, he said: ‘The only reason I kept it secret is because I’ve got to earn, I’ve got to feed my babies, pay the bills.

‘And as soon as you say you’ve got cancer, people just write you off.’

He added: ‘Unfortunately, one of the companies claimed they couldn’t insure and didn’t renew my contract. It left a massive hole in my income.’

Jonnie felt like he’d ‘been thrown on the scrap heap.’

This comes after Jonnie claimed he was ‘pushed aside for someone healthier’ by Channel 4 after his cancer diagnosis, saying he was left heartbroken when his contract wasn’t renewed for A Place in the Sun.

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