Escape To The Country pays tribute to Jonnie Irwin with highlights reel

In a clip the late TV presenter was heard saying he loved his job.
Jonnie Irwin (Alamy/PA)
Hannah Roberts5 February 2024

Escape To The Country has paid tribute to the late TV presenter Jonnie Irwin with a montage showcasing his highlights from the show.

After his death aged 50, which was announced on Friday, a spokesman for his family said Irwin had “fought bravely against cancer with unwavering strength and courage”.

On Monday, an episode he had hosted on the BBC One programme aired which showed Irwin helping a retired couple find a house in Somerset so they could make the move from Reading.

At the end of the programme a montage played which showed Irwin’s highlights from the show and it included clips of him surfing, playing baseball and sitting on a moving model train.

In one of the clips he was heard saying “I love this job sometimes”, and in another he joked: “It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it.”

At the end an image of Irwin popped on to the screen alongside his name and the dates 1973 – 2024.

Irwin had been a host on the British daytime property-buying programme since 2010.

The property expert had also presented on what used to be called A Place In The Sun: Home Or Away? with Jasmine Harman.

A Place In The Sun helps couples who want to move from the UK to find a home abroad with sun, sea and sand.

Irwin also starred in Channel 4’s Renovation Game, which ran for three seasons from 2011, in which builders and designers put their fees on the line if they did not raise the property value of a house during a revamp.

In 2022 Irwin disclosed that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020 and it had spread to his brain.

He said the first warning sign was while he was filming A Place In The Sun in Italy in August 2020, when his vision became blurry while driving.

Escape To The Country presenter Nicki Chapman said she was “heartbroken” at the news of Irwin’s death, and his A Place In The Sun co-star Harman said she would miss her “partner in crime” and “OG co-presenter.”

Irwin has three sons, Rex, and twins Rafa and Cormac, with his wife Jessica.

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