Antiques Roadshow star Theo Burrell has passed away at age 39 after a four-year battle with brain cancer, just over three months after marrying her longtime partner.
Theo’s family shared the heartbreaking news on Saturday with an emotional message penned to the BBC star’s Instagram account.
“It is with great sadness that I share the news that Theo passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Wednesday afternoon,” the post read. “Neither she nor her medical team foresaw this happening quite so quickly.”
The message continued: “She was an incredible person who fought hard for her family, friends and raising awareness of this cruel disease. She saw life events like her son’s first day at school and her wedding that a little over 4 years ago we thought she’d never see.”
“The cancer community provided so much comfort and strength to her in her darkest moments. But most of all it provided hope and I think what she would want most of all is for other people to find hope in her story. Hope that the statistics aren’t gospel and that one day they’ll be very different,” the emotional post concluded.
Theo, who joined BBC’s Antiques Roadshow in 2018, is survived by her partner of 13 years Alex and their son Jonah, who was 19 months old when she was diagnosed. After more than a decade together, Theo and Alex had shared a special milestone earlier this year, revealing they tied the knot on 28 March in an intimate ceremony attended by their nearest and dearest in Edinburgh.
“Not only did we have a lot of fun but it feels so nice to be husband and wife after all these years together,” Theo wrote on Instagram alongside a wedding portrait.
Health battle
Theo was diagnosed with a grade four brain tumour (glioblastoma) in June 2022, which is considered a highly aggressive and most serious type of glioma. After undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, a scan in December 2024 revealed the BBC star’s cancer had a regrowth.
In a heartbreaking final post two weeks ago on 27 June, Theo said she had “expected to live for 12-18 months” when she received her diagnosis.
“In the wake of that news I had many dark thoughts including that I wouldn’t see my son’s 2nd birthday let alone him starting school, but I’m lucky enough to say I did! And no one can take that away from me,” she penned. In her last health update, Theo said she had undergone a second surgery in January and had lost her peripheral vision on her left.
Remembered as a ‘force of nature’
A year after her diagnosis, Theo became an advocate for Brain Tumour Research, a charity dedicated to funding cancer research, raising awareness and providing support. The charity wrote they were “heartbroken” at the news of Theo’s death in a lengthy statement published to the official website.
“Theo was a force of nature, passionately campaigning to end inequalities for brain tumour patients and fundraising to power life-changing research. After her diagnosis in 2022, she knew that her own story would likely end only one way, but she was absolutely determined to make a difference for others,” the tribute read.
The charity’s CEO, Dan Knowles, remembered Theo as “phenomenal, determined and truly inspiring”. He added: “She was always very open about her prognosis and knew from the outset her cancer was terminal, but she was absolutely determined to make a difference for others.”
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