The co-star of a TV presenter who died in the North East aged 50 burst into tears when recalling her memories of him this morning (Wednesday, May 29).
Known for presenting Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun, Jonnie Irwin died in February in Newcastle, having been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020.
Since his death, his wife Jessica Holmes and colleagues have paid tribute to him, and on Loose Women this morning, Jasmine Harman, who first appeared on screen with Irwin 20 years ago, spoke about working together.
She explained how the pair met during filming in South Africa.
"Looking at these old photos chokes me up actually," she said on Loose Women.
"It was a big break away for both of us from what we’d been doing previously, going to work in television, so we didn’t always film together because we were always in different countries, but we used to get together at the Place In The Sun live events, we became very good friends.
"Jonnie came to my wedding, he was the butt of a lot of my dad’s jokes when my dad his speech, I met my husband on the show as well, and when Jonnie met Jess, his lovely wife, I just remember thinking, “Wow she is the one for him,” and they had their lovely boys.
"It’s a hard time."
Breaking down into tears, she continued: "You never know what’s around the corner, and I think we can all take something from it… we can all cherish every day and live with as much joy as possible, and that’s what he did.
"She’s an amazing woman, but the outpouring of love for him has been amazing so I want to thank all the people who have sent messages."
After Newcastle-born Irwin’s death was announced earlier this year, Jasmine penned a lengthy tribute referring to him as ‘my partner in crime’ on Instagram.
Shortly after Irwin's death, an episode of Escape to the Country aired which showed him 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, who had lived with his wife and children in Newcastle at the end of his life, popped onto the screen alongside his name and the dates 1973 – 2024.
Irwin had been a host on the British daytime property-buying programme since 2010.
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He 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.
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