Jo Gardiner, a contestant on the BBC travel competition "Race Across the World," has died at the age of 61, her family announced Monday. Her death follows a "long and courageous battle with cancer." Gardiner competed in the show's second series in 2020 alongside her son, Sam.
Sam Gardiner died in June 2025 at age 24 when his car went off the road. The mother and son duo had traveled across South America together for the competition.
"She had a rare gift for making everyone around her feel more alive," Gardiner's family said in a statement. "She lived fully, fiercely and never did anything by halves." The family also described her as "an intrepid adventurer, brave, kind, witty and endlessly loving."
The production team for "Race Across the World," Studio Lambert, and the BBC also issued a statement, calling Gardiner the "matriarch" of the cast and extending their sympathies to her surviving son, Charlie, and other family members. They noted that Sam and Jo had been "integral" to the second series and remembered their "transformative journey across Latin America."
During filming, Sam Gardiner described his mother as "amazing" and noted their close relationship. He said he thought it would be fun to travel with her as she had traveled extensively in her life. The mother and son participated in the show, which saw contestants race from Mexico City to Ushuaia, Argentina, partly because Gardiner wanted to share a travel adventure with Sam, who had ADHD.
Gardiner, a physiotherapist from Manchester, also lived with type 1 diabetes and was an ambassador for Diabetes UK. Her family has established a JustGiving page in her name to support the organization.
"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," her family's statement read. "As we grieve, we ask for privacy, but we also ask everyone who knew and loved Jo to do exactly what she would have wanted: tell the funny stories, raise a glass, have an adventure, laugh loudly and live life to the full."