TV presenter Jonnie Irwin has shared some new photos celebrating the “best Father’s Day ever” with his three young sons.
The former star of property shows such as Channel 4‘s A Place in the Sun and the BBC‘s Escape to the Country revealed that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer after first sensing something was wrong with his health while filming for work back in 2020.
The 49-year-old shared the devastating details of his illness during an interview with Hello back in November 2022, explaining that he was driving when he noticed his vision had gone blurry, before heading to the doctors and subsequently receiving his cancer diagnosis with an initial prognosis of only six months to live.
Medical treatment had since been prolonging life for the father-of-three, but Jonnie said he had chosen to go public with his diagnosis after the cancer had spread from his lungs to his brain.
Terminally ill Jonnie Irwin shares photos of ‘best Father’s Day ever’ with young sons / Credit: Jonnie Irwin (via Instagram)
Jonnie said in his initial interview with Hello magazine that he doesn’t have a bucket list, but instead wants to prioritise spending quality time with and “doing as much as we can as a family”, adding that: “One day, this is going to catch up with me – but I’m doing everything I can to hold that day off for as long as possible.
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“I owe that to Jess and our boys.”
And spending quality time with his family was exactly what Jonnie got to do this past weekend, as he celebrated the “best Father’s Day ever” with his three young sons – four-year-old Rex, twins Rafa and Cormac aged two.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday to share a collection of photos on what the presenter has admitted in another accompanying exclusive interview with Hello magazine will be his “last Father’s Day”, Jonnie wrote: “Had the best Father’s Day ever.
“Breakfast of Chocolate Guinness cake baked expertly my brilliant wife.
“Then cards from the boys and visit from my brother-in-law for a brief pillion ride back in time to enjoy some of the highs and lows of the Ashes, ending in more cake with more family washed down by a drop of champers.”
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Jonnie was diagnosed with terminal cancer back in 2020 / Credit: Jonnie Irwin (via Instagram)
Also in the new interview, Jonnie revealed that he and his wife have chosen not to tell their boys about his cancer diagnosis.
“I keep being asked, ‘Are you going to tell them?’ But tell them what?,” Jonnie explained.
“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.”
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’
Emily Sergeant
Call yourself a clever clogs? The BBC is currently looking for contestants to take part in what is widely considered the hardest quiz show on TV.
That’s right – Only Connect is back for another series on BBC Two.
Presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell and first broadcast all the way back in 2008, Only Connect takes TV quizzing to the next level, as it sees two teams compete against each other by finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues.
In this quiz show – which viewers have dubbed one of the most challenging there is – knowledge only takes you so far, as the ability to think laterally is also deemed ‘vitally important’.
A casting call for the upcoming 2027 series has been shared on the BBC website, with people from Greater Manchester encouraged to apply.
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’ / Credit: BBC
The casting call reads: “The popular BBC Two quiz show presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell returns for a new series in 2027.
“Only Connect is seeking teams of three players OR single applicants or teams of two looking for like-minded teammates to pool their combined wits to solve fiendish conundrums and vexing puzzles.
“This is the quiz series where, as in life itself, knowledge will only take you so far: patience and lateral thinking are also vital. It’s all about making connections between things which may appear, at first glance, not to be connected at all.”
Reckon you’ve got what it takes then? Applications are now open, and all applicants must be aged 18 or over and a resident in the UK or Channel Islands.
Channel 4 is looking for Mancs who think they can survive the apocalypse for a new TV series
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Have you always wanted to see how long you’d last in an apocalypse?
Well now’s your chance, as Apocalypse is potentially coming back to Channel 4 for a second series, with producers having put out a nationwide casting call for contestants willing to take part.
The casting call simply reads: “Do you think you have what it takes to survive the end of the world?”
Described as a dystopian series designed to test the creativity, resourcefulness, and resilience of our nation, Apocalypse sees players are pushed out of their comfort zones and put to the ultimate test.
In the series, ordinary people are tasked with surviving for 28 days in an abandoned city – used previously only for the military to practice urban warfare – with no food, running water, electricity or heat.
Produced by The Garden – which is part of ITV Studios – for Channel 4, the show’s creators are now calling on Mancs and people up and down the country with the ‘courage and ingenuity’ to compete, to get in touch and apply for the potential second series.
Does your mate always bang on after watching a post-apocalyptic film that they would’ve done things differently? Or is the news at the moment freaking you out and you want to give the end of the world a bit of a practice run? Either way, sign up, test that plan you’ve built in your head, and see if you’ve really got what it takes.
Applications are now open, and all you need to do is fill in a short application form and one of the production team will get back to you if they would like to proceed. Come on, let’s prove what Mancs are made of.
Emily Sergeant -
20th June 2023 
