'Antiques Roadshow' star dies at 39 following brain cancer battle
"Antiques Roadshow" star Theo Burrell has died at the age of 39.
The news was announced in a post on Burrell's Instagram Saturday, July 11, with a tribute that revealed she "passed away peacefully surrounded by her family" the afternoon of Wednesday, July 8.
Burrell was a ceramics and glass expert with Lyon & Turnbull auctioneers in Edinburgh and rose to fame during her time on the BBC's "Antiques Roadshow."
"Neither she nor her medical team foresaw this happening quite so quickly," the message began. "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."
'Antiques Roadshow' star Theo Burrell cause of death
Burrell's death follows a yearslong battle with brain cancer.
In June 2022, she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer that starts as a growth of cells in the brain or spinal cord, according to the Mayo Clinic.
"The cancer community provided so much comfort and strength to her in her darkest moments," said the post on Burrell's Instagram. "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."
At the time, she was been given 12 to 18 months to live, she revealed in a post marking the four-year anniversary of the diagnosis on June 27, just two weeks before her death.
"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," Burrell wrote, adding that she "will not give up" as she awaited the results of a new scan.
"If you're in the brain cancer world along with me - you're not alone and we've just got to take it slowly but surely - every day we make is a bit of a win for us and a 'GET LOST!' to the illness!" she continued.
Burrell also opened up about her cancer journey in a March video with the Department of Health and Social Care, where she said she had undergone 17 rounds of chemotherapy, as well as a surgery, after finding a six-and-a-half centimeter brain tumor nearly four years prior.
"But, I am running out of treatment options, and I will lose my life to this cancer. There's absolutely no doubt about it," Burrell noted.
She then shared the importance of her advocacy work for others: "Things may be too late for me, but I definitely can make peace with that if I know that the situation's gonna be better for future patients."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Antiques Roadshow' star dies at 39 following brain cancer battle
Reporting by Liza Esquibias, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 5:02 PM.