Jonnie Irwin says Channel Four broke his heart
GMB: Jonnie Irwin discusses his Cancer battle
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Jonnie Irwin has slammed the treatment he received from Channel 4 after he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The presenter was taken off A Place in the Sun after sixteen years starring in the show. He claims the network worked to replace him rapidly after he updated them on his condition.
The beloved TV presenter has opened up on the hurdles he claims Channel 4 put up to prevent him from hosting the travel show.
Jonnie told The Sun: “I didn’t get that support from A Place In The Sun. I told them I wanted to work.
“When I said I can get you doctor notes and assurances from my oncologist that I am fit to work, I was told, verbatim, ‘Oh, you really don’t want to go down that route, do you?’”
“They said, ‘We don’t think we can get the insurance’, not ‘We can’t get the insurance’, but, ‘We don’t think ’ That broke my heart and affected my mental health.”
Jonnie started presenting A Place In The Sun in 2004, but has not appeared on the programme since his diagnosis in August 2020.
He continued: “Within two weeks someone else was on TV doing my job. I just feel I earned a bit more from them after 18 years.
“That was my first job in TV and it was special to me. I started with my good friend Jasmine Harman and to have that taken away from me.
“That wage, that purpose, as if the cancer wasn’t bad enough. Now I’m just pushed to the side in favour of someone healthier.”
Channel 4 has responded to the comments made by Jonnie and issued a statement red out on Good Morning Britain.
Along with production company Freeform Productions, who make A Place In The Sun, they said: “No stone was left unturned in trying to enable Jonnie to continue his international filming with us during Covid.
“But, the production company were unable to secure adequate insurance cover for him.
“We, of course, understand how frustrating this must be for him at this incredibly difficult time.”
Jonnie bravely shared his diagnosis with the public earlier in November and the TV world has been rocked by the announcement .
On hearing the news, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star Scarlette Douglas shared her shock and described the impact her co-star had on her.
She remarked: “I had heard but I didn’t realise it was terminal, which makes it sound imminent.
“On A Place In The Sun we’re always in different locations and we never really get to see each other.”
She continued: “Sometimes our paths might cross but I think I probably only met Jonnie in person maybe three times, a handful of times, but it was always just brilliant.
“And I remember when I was doing my screen test for it, I’d watch a lot of his shows because he was confident with the house hunters.
“He was just on it. He knew everything, you know, you never question Jonnie. Jonnie was just so knowledgeable.
“Any questions the house hunters had, he knew the answer to and I remember taking a lot of inspiration from him when I first did the screen test, and even still doing the shows, still watching his episodes and being like ‘Jonnie’s done it like that.'”
Express.co.uk has contacted Channel Four for comment.
A Place In The Sun is available to stream on All 4
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