Place In The Sun host Jonnie Irwin says terminal cancer treatment caused 'irreparable' damage

TV presenter Jonnie Irwin has revealed that he has suffered irreparable liver damage as a result of treatment for his terminal cancer.

The Place In The Sun host revealed his lung cancer had spread to his brain last year, after first being diagnosed in 2020.

Now, the father-of-three has spoken about how he recently went to Turkey for treatment, but has now been left with liver damage following the procedure.

“It’s blocked in a place they can’t operate on, so there’s no point fighting the cancer elsewhere if the liver’s not working. It’s a cruel blow,” he told Hello magazine.

“It can happen at any time. I’m here to stop it for as long as possible.”

The 49-year-old also spoke of how he is keeping a positive attitude at home, because he doesn’t know “how long I have left”.

He said: “My attitude is that I’m living with cancer, not dying from it. I set little markers – things I want to be around for. I got into the habit of saying: ‘Don’t plan ahead because I might not be well enough.”

Irwin shares three-year-old son Rex and two-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac with his wife Jessica Holmes.

The pair are yet to break the news of his cancer to their children, which Irwin said could “confuse the hell” out of them.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Irwin previously revealed the first warning sign of his illness came while he was filming A Place In The Sun in August 2020 in Italy, when his vision became blurry while driving.

“Within a week of flying back from filming, I was being given six months to live,” he said.