Jonnie Irwin enjoyed a family trip out to see Santa with his wife and son Rex, three, on Wednesday, after recently sharing news of his terminal cancer diagnosis.
The A Place in the Sun presenter, 49, joked that he’d ‘given in’ and was officially marking the start of the festive season with his family.
In November, he revealed that he had been given ‘months to live’ and heartbreakingly said he knew his sons – Rex and two-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac – would grow up not knowing their dad, after his cancer spread to his brain.
The TV star took to Instagram to share some snaps from their visit to Father Christmas, showing him and wife Jessica, 40, posing next to Rudolph and pal with Rex in the reindeer barn.
Rex was then photographed in conversation with Santa, ahead of a family selfie with the man himself.
The trio were then pictured sitting around a table as the grown-ups indulged in some mulled wine and they all tucked into some Christmas treats.
‘Ok, I’ve given in, Christmas is here!’ Jonnie wrote in the caption, adding: ‘Nothingbtondonwith [sic] the mince pies and mulled wine on offer at all! Merry Christmas! X’
The final picture showed the three of them wrapped up against the cold outside in coats and scarves – with Jonnie sporting a tweed flat cap – as they posed in front of snow-covered pine trees.
Fans flocked to the comments to share their support and delight over the day out.
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‘I can’t say enough about how precious these pictures are,’ wrote on follower. ‘You and Jess are such good parents. Rex is definitely having the time of his life!’
‘Lovely photos ! Sending so much love to you all ❤️,’ posted another.
A third commented: ‘Love you Jonnie. You’re the best. Hate what you’re going through at the moment. I hope you have the very best Christmas imaginable. X’
Revealing his terminal diagnosis to Hello! magazine last month, Jonnie said: ‘I don’t know how long I have left, but I try to stay positive and my attitude is that I’m living with cancer, not dying from it.
‘I set little markers – things I want to be around for. I got into the habit of saying, “Don’t plan ahead because I might not be well enough.” But now I want to make plans. I want to make memories and capture these moments with my family because the reality is, my boys are going to grow up not knowing their dad and that breaks my heart.’
The TV star first got a warning sign that things weren’t right when he suffered with blurred vision in August 2020, when he was in Italy, filming for A Place in the Sun, a show he worked on from 2004.
His devastating cancer diagnosis came quickly, but cancer drugs including chemotherapy have helped to prolong his prognosis.
After sharing the news of his diagnosis, Jonnie said he’s received ‘messages from people all over the world, wishing me well’.
‘Thousands of people have left me heart-warming comments on Instagram and I promise I will try to read them all,’ he told The Sun, with Jonnie now boasting 144,000 followers on the social media platform.
‘They range from practical, scientific advice to ones from very religious people. There are thousands and thousands of them on my social media platforms and it’s been great.’
