Jo Gardiner travelled with her son Sam in the 2020 series of the BBC One show
A former Race Across the World contestant has died, a year after her son and co-star's death in a car crash.
Jo Gardiner, 61, died "following a long and courageous battle with cancer", her family said.
Gardiner, a physiotherapist from Manchester, travelled across South America with her son Sam in the second series of the BBC show, which aired in 2020.
Her family said she was "one of a kind" who "lived fully, fiercely and never did anything by halves".
Jo Gardiner's family described her as "our joy, our safe place and our absolute treasure"
Her son, Sam, who she appeared with on the show, died in June 2025 after his car came off the road and crashed.
The mother and son competed on Race Across The World because Gardiner wanted to experience a travel adventure with Sam, who had ADHD.
They competed against four other pairs of contestants racing from Mexico City down to Ushuaia in Argentina.
Gardiner's family said "she had a rare gift for making everyone around her feel more alive".
"She lived fully, fiercely and never did anything by halves," they added.
"She was blessed with countless friends, drawn to her extraordinary magnetism.
"Somehow, each one felt as though they were among her very best.
"To us, she was more than all of these things.
"She was our family, our joy, our safe place and our absolute treasure."
