TRAGIC TALES
Inside A Place in The Sun cast’s real-life struggles – from Jonnie Irwin’s cancer battle to star’s life-changing injury
PICTURESQUE beaches, clear blue skies and pretty seaside resorts - A Place in the Sun is the ultimate escapism.
But life for some of its presenters has been far from a holiday - especially terminally ill Jonnie Irwin.
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The dad-of-three, 49, shocked fans this month when he revealed he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020, which had spread to his brain, and was told he had six months to live.
He had been filming A Place In The Sun in Italy when he became ill, and medication, radiotherapy and chemo have kept him alive.
In an exclusive chat with The Sun, Jonnie spoke of his despair at the thought of leaving behind his wife Jess, three-year-old son Rex and two-year-old twins Cormac and Rafa.
He also accused show bosses of dumping him when he told them he was dying, which "broke his heart".
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Today he said that producers on the show had paid him off and failed to renew his contract.
Speaking of his family, he added: "They’re too young and if I die this year there’s no chance they will have memories. And someone else is probably going to bring them up.
"I’ve done the hard yards with them and someone else will get the easy bit.”
Horror smash
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Jonnie's harrowing tale comes weeks after fellow host Danni Menzies was involved in a horror smash in Battersea, south west London.
The Scottish stunner, 33, shared shocking blood-soaked photos after she was hit by a stolen moped travelling at 30mph.
She was knocked unconscious and rushed to hospital with facial injuries.
Following the scary ordeal she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and post-traumatic vertigo, and took some time out to recover at home.
A source told the : "All she hopes now is to regain her confidence, take time offline to recover, and for her facial wounds to completely heal."
Sharing an update about her recovery on Instagram, she wrote: "A few weeks hiding away and I'm getting back to normal, gonna have a scar but seems I got a fringe cut at the right time!"
Earlier this year Danni confirmed she would be leaving A Place in the Sun after six years.
House fire and marriage breakdown
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In January fans were shocked when Laura Hamilton, 40, announced she'd split from her husband Alex Goward after 13 years together.
The couple share two young children - Rocco, eight, and Tahlia, six.
Laura shared the news on Instagram with a post containing the Dr Seuss quote: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
She later admitted they were on "different paths" in their lives, and the split left her "overwhelmed with sadness".
Three months later there was more turmoil when young Rocco was rushed to hospital with a mystery illness.
Laura shared a snap of him with an IV line in his arm, revealing her brave little boy had "been through it over the last few weeks".
And in April, Laura was forced to call the fire brigade after her home burst into flames during renovation work.
She had moved into the Surrey mansion after leaving her old family home in Purley.
Life-changing crash
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Back in 2004, Victoria Hollingsworth, then 27, had not long landed the job as a presenter on A Place in the Sun when she was involved in a horrific car accident.
She was filming in Cordoba in southern Spain with an assistant producer and two househunters when their driver lost control after narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with a lorry while overtaking.
They swerved off the road and rolled down a bank, with Victoria taking the brunt of the impact.
Recalling the ordeal, she wrote in the : "I remember thinking, quite rationally at the time, that we were probably all going to die.
"As I came round, I was in excruciating pain and could not move my legs, with the car squashed down on top of me and everyone's screaming ringing in my ears."
Victoria suffered three shattered vertebrae, five broken ribs, a punctured lung and fractured shoulder, and doctors feared she'd be paralysed.
After a nine-hour operation and months of rehabilitation, Victoria - now a mum-of-three - made a miraculous recovery and has since changed careers, becoming a successful investigative journalist.
Tragic accident and 'near miss'
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Jasmine Harman is another regular face on the daytime show - but she too has had a hard time this year.
In July she shared an emotional post revealing her dog Jet died in a tragic accident.
Jasmine told her followers she was heartbroken after losing the treasured pooch she shared with husband Jon and their two children, Albion and Joy.
Writing on Instagram, she said: "I just wanted to wake up from this awful nightmare where our darling boy has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. My heart is broken.
"A tragic accident and he is taken from us far, far too soon. Always happy, gentle, loved his family and his doggy and hooman friends [sic]."
She later had a lucky escape in September when the ceiling fell down in her living room.
The mum-of-two, 46, shared a snap of the damage, which showed a gaping hole in the plasterboard and carnage on the floor.
She captioned the photo: “OMFG! My ceiling just fell down. Thank goodness no one was in there.”
Painful injury
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In August Ben Hillman, 32, who joined the show in 2016, suffered a nasty accident on the first day of a family trip to France.
He fractured and dislocated his thumb on a water slide, leaving the bone "sticking out the skin".
Ben shared a snap from hospital showing his thumb heavily bandaged up.
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He gave fans a gruesome update a month later, explaining the metal rod that had been inserted was being taken out.
Ben has been married to his wife Gaby - who works in the NHS - since 2011 and they share two daughters - Hope Blossom and Honour Willow.
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