The BBC has issued a statement following the death of one of its presenters, Jonnie Irwin, which was announced yesterday.
The Escape to the Country presenter died on Friday February 2 after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020. It then spread to his brain. He revealed his illness in November 2022.
BBC sends message following Jonnie Irwin death
Speaking out following Jonnie’s passing, Rob Unsworth, Head of BBC Daytime and Early Peak Commissioning called Jonnie “an extraordinary man”.
He said: “Jonnie Irwin was an extraordinary man and wonderful presenter. He brought such warmth and fun to Escape to the Country, where he was a firm favourite with not just viewers, but the production team too.
“More recently, he did some truly inspirational reports for Morning Live about his illness, tackling taboos around end of life care, and wonderfully demonstrating the limitless positivity that he brought to everything he did.
“His kindness will be hugely missed by everyone he worked with, and we are sending all of our thoughts to his family and friends at this sad time.”
John Comerford, Head of Naked West and Executive Producer of Escape to the Country added: “We are incredibly saddened to hear the news about Jonnie.
“He has been at the very heart of Escape to the Country for 14 years and will be a huge loss to our production team and all the viewers who have loved watching him on the show. Jonnie was clever, warm and funny, never short of a mischievous and insightful line and always put the programme’s contributors at ease.
“All the teams he worked with loved him. He is an unimaginable loss to the Escape family. We send our love and heartfelt condolences to Jess and his beautiful boys.”
Escape to the Country tributes
His fellow Escape to the Country presenters were also among the first to pay tribute following his death.
Jules Hudson posted to his Instagram: “Just got home to hear the devastating news of our old friend Jonnie Irwin. Escape to the Country is family to those of us lucky enough to make it, and Jonnie was its life and soul. Always funny, always full of mischief, he met his diagnosis with characteristic fight and a selfless determination to do whatever he could to beat it.
“All of our thoughts are with Jonnie and his family on a day we all dared to hope would never come. Farewell old friend, I’ll see you next time… with all our love, Jules.”
Nicky Chapman shared a picture of Jonnie and three broken heart emojis. She commented on the death announcement: “Heart broken. Sending love to Jess and the family.”
Lucy Alexander, a fellow daytime TV presenter of Homes Under The Hammer, said: “A true legend. RIP.”
Other TV stars including Corrie’s Kate Ford, Emmerdale’s Samantha Giles, and Tv personality Vogue Williams added their condolences. At the time of writing, the post had over 26k comments following his heartbreaking death.
Jonnie’s A Place In The Sun co-star Jasmine Harman commented: “My heart is broken.”
She then posted a very lengthy statement to her own Instagram, remembering Jonnie and their friendship.
Jasmine Harman pays tribute to Jonnie
She wrote: “Jonnie Irwin – I will always remember the first time I heard your name. When I was doing a screen test for a new show, they said ‘we definitely want Jonnie, but we need to find another presenter’. I wondered who this mysterious Jonnie was. We met in Cape Town, filming the pilot.
“You were so charismatic and energetic, so confident and fun. I understood immediately why they had to have you. Your cheeky-chappy persona and naughty sense of humour always broke the ice and made people laugh. Everyone warmed to you and you had the incredible ability to connect with people, making them feel like they’d known you for years.”
She continued: “To begin our TV careers together was a pleasure and a privilege I will be eternally grateful for. Almost 20 years ago, as two nervous new presenters (me perhaps more nervous than you!) little did we know we know about the adventure we were about to embark on, and the friends we would become.
“Professionally, you were well suited to life in front of the lens. But for years, you always talked about wanting to settle down and become a dad. Your wish was granted when you met Jess. Never were you happier than in your role as husband and Dad to the most awesome three boys – you are a legend.
View this post on Instagram
‘Life is simply not fair’
“Life is simply not fair. We can’t reason with it; there are no answers to the question Why? We can, in your memory learn to cherish every hug, every conversation, every moment, for the priceless time we have. Enjoy every breath, every sunrise and sunset, never take anything for granted, because tomorrow is not promised.”
She concluded: “Jonnie, you’ve taught me so much in our time as work colleagues and as good friends. I have never admired you more than over the last few years as you’ve faced life with cancer with positivity, determination and bloody mindedness. I’ve never known anyone as strong as you. You have done yourself, your loved ones and all of us proud.
“The world is a little darker today without you, but I will always smile when I think of you. My partner in crime, my OG co-presenter – Jonnie, I will miss you.”
Read more: Jonnie Irwin’s poignant last message to his children before death from cancer aged 50
Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think of this story.