Jonnie Irwin says some of his friends let him down after he received his cancer diagnosis.
The former A Place in the Sun presenter was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2020.
He initially kept his health scare a secret so he could continue presenting 'to pay the bills'.
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“The only reason I kept it secret is because I’ve got to earn, I’ve got to feed my babies, pay the bills," Irwin told the OneChat podcast with AIG life.
“And as soon as you say you’ve got cancer, people just write you off.
“I had to live with it as a secret.
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“It was really difficult living with such a massive cloud above me and pretending to everyone else.”
Even his wife Jessica Holmes only found out two months after she gave birth to their (now two-year-old) twins Rafa and Cormac. The pair also share Rex, four.
Last Tuesday (27 June), Irwin attended the TRIC Awards with Escape to the Country co-stars, where he spoke about his on-screen 'family'.
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He told The Sun: “It means everything to me, I consider these people my family," referencing Nicki Chapman, Sonali Shah and Jules Hudson.
“The people I thought would be supportive weren’t.
“But these guys in this game have done what I hoped they would do and more.
“This is my boss and she’s been with me every step of the day, personally and professionally and I couldn’t be more grateful to have her in my life.”
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However, the response from his loved ones was different to what he believes he received from his former colleagues at Channel 4, for whom he starred in A Place in the Sun.
Irwin said: “I told them I wanted to work. When I said I can get you doctor’s 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?’
“Within two weeks, someone else was on TV doing my job. I just feel I earned a bit more from them after 18 years.”
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Channel 4 and Freeform told the outlet in a statement: “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.”
Tyla has contacted Channel 4 for additional comment.
Anish Vij