Race Across the World star Jo Gardiner dies aged 61 one year after son's death

Jo Gardiner, who gained recognition as a contestant on the BBC's "Race Across the World," has died at the age of 61, her family announced.

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She was one of a kind who lived fully, fiercely and never did anything by halves.

Gardiner passed away following a "long and courageous battle with cancer." Her death comes just over a year after her son and travel companion on the show, Sam Gardiner, died in a car crash in June 2025. The mother and son duo appeared together in the second series of the show in 2020, traveling across South America.

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She had a rare gift for making everyone around her feel more alive.

Her family remembered Jo Gardiner as "one of a kind" who "lived fully, fiercely and never did anything by halves." They highlighted her "rare gift for making everyone around her feel more alive" and her "extraordinary magnetism." The family requested privacy during their grief but urged those who knew her to "tell the funny stories, raise a glass, have an adventure, laugh loudly and live life to the full."

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We know how deeply Jo was loved, and we take comfort in knowing that her laughter, her courage, her kindness and her wonderfully outrageous spirit will live on in the many people whose lives she touched.

Producers of "Race Across the World" described Gardiner as the "matriarch" of the show's cast family, stating she leaves a "lasting legacy." They offered their "deepest and heartfelt sympathies" to her surviving son, Charlie, and her wider family and friends, adding that it was a "privilege to share her story."

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On behalf of the Studio Lambert production team, the BBC and the whole Race Across The World cast, we offer our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to Jo's son Charlie, and her wider family and friends.