Jo Gardiner and her son, Sam Gardiner, featured in the BBC's 'Race Across the World,' which aired in 2020.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleJo Gardiner, who dealt with the grief of losing her beloved son, Sam, in the past year has died at 61. She was best known for her stint in the BBC's Race Across The World, where her warmth, courage, and adventurous personality impressed everyone. In fact, the reality TV star was also joined by her son, Sam Gardiner, on the BBC series. However, soon things became challenging for her personally after she was diagnosed with cancer.
Jo Gardiner's family has confirmed that she has died. They revealed that she passed away courageously fighting a "long and courageous" battle with cancer.
Several fans took to social media to share their condolences with the show's former contestants. They also encouraged anyone who knew Jo to celebrate her life as she would have liked. The BBC show's team also shared a heartfelt message as they paid their tribute to Jo's journey across Latin America with her son in 2020. The channel praised her passion, strength, kindness, and unconditional devotion to her family.
The BBC team addressed Jo Gardiner as the "matriarch" of the show. They recalled how she left a lasting impact on everyone she met. They also mentioned how Sam shared that his mother was "amazing" during the filming, and that is how they intend to remember her.
Jo's death comes just a year after her 24-year-old son, Sam Gardiner's death. He died in May 2025 owing to injuries sustained in a car accident. As per records, the accident took place in Manchester, where he was driving a Volkswagen. Eventually, it rolled over and landed on its side. Soon, Sam was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and fought for life before he passed away.
After Sam's tragic death, his parents, Jo and Andrew, shared an emotional tribute for him. They mentioned that their son brought joy wherever he went. Jo and Andrew also admitted that Sam's death had left a major void in their lives. Soon, fans joined fundraising efforts in his memory for causes linked to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) because Sam dealt with the condition throughout his life.
Jo Gardiner was initially a physiotherapist before turning into a reality TV star. She rose to fame in 2020 when she featured with her son on BBC's Race Across the World. The mother-son duo went across Latin America, starting from Mexico and moving towards Argentina. In fact, the challenge was to travel the whole way without any modern conveniences.
At the beginning, Jo joined the show to allow her 24-year-old son to explore the world. She often shared how she was proud of Sam and hoped he would become confident and achieve his dreams.
In her personal life, Jo was also a volunteer for Diabetes UK and opened up about the challenges of living with Type 1 diabetes. Still, the condition could not stop her from going on adventures, and enjoying the most of her time. Now, Jo's death has left her fans heartbroken once again after they lost Sam.
Rest in peace, Jo Gardiner. We share our heartfelt condolences to her family in this difficult time.
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