TV presenter, Jonnie Irwin shares his story at Flamingo Heights Podcast Studio
Jonnie Irwin is a well-loved TV presenter who made a name for himself as one of the hosts of ‘A Place in the Sun’ and ‘Escape to the Country’. Now, sadly, Jonnie has terminal cancer and only months to live. Jonnie recently visited our studio in Ouseburn, Newcastle to share details of his cancer diagnosis with Life Insurance experts, AIG Life as a guest on their ‘One Chat’ podcast.
We’re honoured that Jonnie and AIG Life chose our podcast recording studio to record this special and vulnerable podcast, I’m sure it tugged at the hearts of the British population. I wish that we could have welcomed Jonnie under better circumstances, but hopefully we helped him share his story in the way he wanted.
Jonnie’s Tragic Backstory
Jonnie was unfortunately diagnosed with terminal cancer in August 2020. Initially, given 6-months to live, Jonnie is still bravely fighting on 3 years later. The cancer started as lung cancer and has now spread to his brain.
As a family man with a wife and children to support, Jonnie decided to keep his cancer diagnosis secret at first so that he could continue to provide for his wife and family. Unfortunately, Jonnie didn’t have critical illness insurance, so he had to continue working despite his sickness. Now, having gone through this difficult period of working while keeping his illness secret, Jonnie encourages others to get critical illness insurance: “Anyone, if they’ve got the opportunity, do it now. Don’t put it off.”
Podcast Interview for AIG Life’s ‘One Chat’ Podcast
AIG Life approached Flamingo Heights in March 2023 to enquire about recording and producing an interview-style podcast with a high-profile guest, which later turned out to be Jonnie. Their goal was to help Jonnie bring his story to life, by interviewing him on their podcast, ‘One Chat’ —a platform for chatting to a special guest each episode to hear about the life experiences that have shaped their wellbeing.
The AIG Life team remarked that our studio facilities “looked brilliant”. With such fabulous compliments about our flamingo-ey studio, and the chance to share the story of such an inspirational and well-loved man, how could we say no! So we started planning the podcast and preparing to welcome Jonnie on the day.
Like many of our client’s podcasts, we recorded Jonnie’s podcast in our sound-treated room, ‘The Nest’. We kept him well hydrated with lots of cups of tea to protect his voice. And we made sure he was well-fed with a regular supply of custard creams. Judging by his kind comments on Instagram below, he felt well looked after!
TV presenter, Jonnie Irwin recording his podcast at Flamingo Heights Studio
Jonnie recording his audio-and-video podcast interview with insurance specialists, AIG Life in ‘The Nest’ at our recording studio, Flamingo Heights in Ouseburn, Newcastle Upon Tyne. Thanks for the shout-out on Instagram, Jonnie.
Podcast Now Live - Listen Here
Jonnie’s podcast is now live. It’s a heart wrenching listen in some places, and it must have been difficult for Jonnie to be so vulnerable, but it offers some great advice around insurance and the importance of planning.
You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts below:
