{
  "id": 3005760,
  "title": "Jo Gardiner Dies: ‘Race Across The World’ Star Passes A Year After Son’s Death",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/jo-gardiner-dies-race-across-the-world-star-passes-a-year-after-sons",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-24T11:14:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Deadline",
    "slug": "deadline",
    "url": "https://deadline.com/2026/08/jo-gardiner-dead-race-across-the-world-1237048737/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Jo Gardiner, a 61-year-old star of the second season of Race Across the World, has died after a long and courageous battle with cancer. According to her family, she passed away a year after her son Sam's death in a car crash in 2025.\n\nGardiner, a physiotherapist from Manchester, had competed in the BBC show with her son Sam in 2020. They travelled across South America, racing from Mexico City to Ushuaia in Argentina against four other pairs of contestants. Gardiner had wanted to experience a travel adventure with Sam, who had ADHD.\n\nHer family described her as \"one of a kind\" who lived \"fully, fiercely and never did anything by halves\". They also said she had a rare gift for making everyone around her feel more alive and that she was \"blessed with countless friends\" due to her \"extraordinary magnetism\".",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC News",
        "title": "Race Across the World star Jo Gardiner dies aged 61 one year after son's death",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/race-across-the-world-star-jo-gardiner-dies-aged-61-one-year-after",
        "published": "2026-08-24T09:53:29.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}