Jo Gardiner, a contestant on the BBC's "Race Across the World," has died of cancer at the age of 61. Her death comes one year after her son and travel companion, Sam, died in a car crash.
Gardiner participated in the second season of the travel competition alongside her son. The pair embarked on a journey across Canada in 2020, starting in Mexico City and aiming to reach the northernmost part of the country. They were among the first teams to be eliminated from the race.
Her family remembered Gardiner as someone who "lived fully, fiercely and never did anything by halves." They added that she possessed an "extraordinary magnetism" and that "each one felt as though they were among her very best." In a statement, they shared that she was their "family, our joy, our safe place and our absolute treasure."
"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 said.
