Jonnie Irwin plans to 'rip down' part of house as star shows off 'exciting' changes to home life

Jonnie Irwin shows off the renovations to his home

Jonnie Irwin shows off the renovations to his home in Newcastle

INSTAGRAM/JONNIE IRWIN
Alex Davies

By Alex Davies


Published: 09/08/2023

- 12:30

Updated: 31/08/2023

- 15:49

The TV presenter has been renovating his Newcastle home in recent months

Since he was diagnosed with cancer in 2020, Jonnie Irwin has been regularly sharing updates from the renovations he's making to his family's home as they adapt to their new way of life.

Irwin has split his time between his house in Newcastle and palliative care as he continues to battle the cancer which spread from his lung to his brain.


The resilient presenter, best known for his work on Channel 4's A Place in the Sun and the BBC's Escape to the Country, has been hard at work overseeing the renovations himself.

Irwin even returned to work in front of the camera last month as he made a comeback to presenting duties for an interior brand.

Now, in his latest update from his home, Irwin has outlined the gargantuan task he has ahead of him when it comes to redoing the entire front of his house.

"Morning of day one of the renovation to the front of the house," Irwin began as he spoke to the camera in a clip shared on his Instagram page.

Jonnie Irwin on Instgram

Jonnie Irwin guided fans through the steps he plans to take

INSTAGRAM/JONNIE IRWIN

The presenter outlined what he has in store as he explained: "So as you can see, it's not the prettiest of houses.

"The plan is to put some differently designed windows in there, drop that window a bit," he continued as he pointed at the areas he was referring to.

"And then move the entire - well, rip down that porch, and move the doorway to the centre of the house."

Irwin explained the reasoning behind such a drastic change as he said: "Doing so it brings in a big room in the middle of the house (which) is basically just a walkthrough room and that makes it an entrance hall...

"Which I think it will be better to live in and better for the house once we've clad it as well."

Signing off the clip, Irwin was clearly eager to get going as he added: "So, early days but pretty exciting."

Irwin captioned the video: "A couple of days late posting this but I promised to be honest with my posts about this renovation- warts n all’ #reno." (sic)

It didn't take long for fans to show their support for Irwin as he remains active as ever despite his diagnosis.

One fan replied to the clip: "It’s going to be fabulous Jonnie .. can’t wait to see the finished result."

Jonnie Irwin's house

A man could be seen already working hard on Jonnie's home

INSTAGRAM/JONNIE IRWIN

While a second agreed: "That’s quite a project. It’s going to be great! X."

Elsewhere, another fan praised: "You’ve probably got better vision than most of us as to what’d work best with a renovation. Best of luck with it guv, keep us posted with progress." (sic)

And a fourth branded Irwin an inspiration: "Jonnie, this is what's driving you because it's your legacy for your family to enjoy for many years. You are a very inspirational man.

"We all love you for your strength and your home may not look the best on the street at the moment but it will when it's finished."

Irwin's latest insight into life at home comes just days after he revealed he sustained an injury at his property.

Sharing a photo of an ice pack wrapped around his ankle, Irwin told his followers: "When you forget the builder has removed your door step…"

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