'A remarkable soul': Jonnie Irwin's wife and A Place In The Sun co-stars pay tribute to presenter
In a statement released by Jonnie Irwin's family, they described him as 'a truly remarkable soul'
A Place in The Sun's Jonnie Irwin has died aged 50, three years after being diagnosed with cancer, his wife announced on Friday.
Jessica Irwin said “me and the boys still need you” in an emotional tribute on Saturday, following the death of the TV presenter.
His co-stars Laura Hamilton and Jasmine Harman were also among those to remember Irwin as “without doubt one of the best”.
Irwin’s wife Jessica, who he shares three sons - Rex, and twins Rafa and Cormac - confirmed the news with a heartfelt Instagram post which featured a photo of the late presenter laughing with a cake lit in front of him.
“Good night my favourite. Thank you for everything. I will always love you,” she wrote.
“The hardest day has come, a day I prayed wouldn’t come.”
She said his “magical brain continued to fight until the end" and that he had given her more than she could have “ever have wished for” including “eight bonkers years of love and adventure and three amazing boys”.
“I will continue to make you proud but only with your love still finding me and guiding me for the rest of my life, me and the boys still need you,” she added.
“Jonnie you really were the most handsome man I ever knew and I am so sorry for this cruel end.
“It really wasn’t fair and you didn’t deserve any of this.
“You gave so much time to others and touched everyone you met, I have never experienced anything like the effect you had on people.
“I love you so much and forever proud of you xxx”
Taking to Instagram to announce her husband's death on Friday night, she said he was "a truly remarkable soul".
"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'," she wrote alongside a picture of them.
"Jonnie touched the lives of so many with his kindness, warmth, and infectious spirit."
The property expert was best known for presenting the TV shows A Place In The Sun and Escape To The Country.
Born in 1972, Jonnie grew up in Bitteswell, Leicestershire before becoming an estate agent.
In 2003 he began presenting Channel 4’s A Place In The Sun with co-presenter Jasmine Harman.
She remembered him as “charismatic and energetic” as well as how his “cheeky-chappy persona and naughty sense of humour” put others at ease as she reflected on their time working together.
“To begin our TV careers together was a pleasure and a privilege I will be eternally grateful for,” she added in a lengthy post to Instagram.
He later went on to present the BBC’s Escape to the Country and To Buy or Not to Buy.
Irwin married Jessica Holmes in September 2016. The couple share three children Rex born in 2018 and twins Rafa and Cormac, who were born just two months before his cancer diagnosis in 2020.
Irwin kept his cancer a secret for two years and said: “As soon as you’ve got cancer, people just write you off.
“It's been a massive weight off my shoulders. The day I came out and told the world I have terminal cancer is the day I started living again. I started being Jonnie Irwin again. I actually feel alive.”
Irwin said the first warning of his illness came when his vision blurred while driving during filming for A Place in the Sun in August 2020.
The presenter had been undergoing brain therapy, which he described as “brutal”.
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