Jonnie Irwin wants to keep his illness a secret from children: 'Why break hearts’

A Place In The Sun's Jonnie Irwin still wants to keep his illness a secret from his children adding as it could be his last Christmas.

Jonnie, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020, recently shared the tragic news that his cancer is terminal.

He tied the knot with Jessica Holmes in 2016 and the couple share children Rex, four, and two-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac.

The presenter made up their minds and said they won't be telling their children about his terminal illness.

"Why break their hearts when they're having such fun?" the couple explained.

"If you have 20 days left, why spend them in mourning and confusion?

"Why not just have 15 days of pure, blissful ignorance and five days of knowing the facts?"

Jonnie will sooner or later tell the eldest child about his illness but the couple are 'still thinking about it'.

He told MailOnline: "I'm not looking forward to the chat with Rex. We're still thinking about it. I've learnt that it's best to do nothing if you're unsure."

Jonnie was filming in Italy when he first noticed something might be wrong with his health.

In August 2020, he suddenly struggled with blurry vision whilst he was driving – with subsequent tests confirming he had developed lung cancer, which had spread to his brain.

He publicly shared his diagnosis last month, after being told by doctors how his stage four lung cancer had spread to his brain and left him with just months left to live.