Jonnie Irwin enjoys precious father and son time after making 'glorious' change to family home

Publish date: 2024-06-01

The A Place in The Sun star is future proofing his home after being diagnosed with terminal cancer

Jonnie Irwin has been devoting his time to renovations after pledging to future-proof his family home for his wife Jessica and their children; Rex, four, and twins Rafa and Cormac, two. 

The Escape to The Country host, who was given a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2020, has taken great joy in keeping his fans up to date with the extensive renovations at his Newcastle home.

In his latest video, Jonnie, 50, showed off his "glorious new driveway" at the stylish 1960s property, which the family moved into nearly three years ago.

Jonnie Irwin reveals his immaculate new driveway at Newcastle home

"It’ll look even better when I’ve brushed the sand off. Cobble stones from Laird Bros supplied by @jtdove_buildingmaterials and driveway laid by @lrobinsondesignsandlandscaping," Jonnie penned on Instagram.

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Jonnie and Jessica's modern property is no longer the plain brown brick home with plain exteriors it once was. The family have installed a tangerine-hued door, a chic monochromatic porch extension, rustic oak cladding and cosy modernist interiors that wouldn't look out of place in a ski chalet. 

Detailing his initial plans to change the layout of his family home, Jonnie explained: "As you can see, it's not the prettiest of houses," before adding that the family hope to "put some different design windows in" and "rip down that porch and move the doorway to the centre of the house."

While that was early days, nearly three years on from the renovations starting the Irwins now have a magical family home that Jonnie and Jessica continue to make memories in as their children grow up. 

Jonnie was in Italy in August 2020, filming for A Place in the Sun, when he got the first warning sign that something was wrong with his health. The TV star's vision went blurry while driving, which was later confirmed as the result of lung cancer which had spread to his brain. 

"Within a week of flying back from filming, I was being given six months to live," he told HELLO!. 

"I had to go home and tell my wife, who was looking after our babies, that she was pretty much on her own. That was devastating. All I could do was apologise to her. I felt so responsible."

Jonnie continues to undergo treatment to prolong his terminal diagnosis, and in the meantime, family time is everything. On Saturday, the father-of-three shared a heartwarming photograph beside his son Rex as the father-son duo enjoyed a festive night of fun at a local pantomime. 

"It’s Panto time! Pinocchio with @dannyandmick had Rex In stitches…" penned the star on Instagram, which was met with a flurry of doting messages from his fans and supporters. 

"Special memories, Rex's face is delightful to see, you're looking great Jonnie, keep doing what you're doing," wrote one fan, as another penned: "Seeing our kids faces light up with delight makes your heart sing. Childhood is a great time for parents as well as kids.

Beautiful photos. Enjoy this beautiful season with family and friends."

"You're an absolute inspiration to us all, enjoy your Christmas lovely lad," added a third.

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