‘Antiques Roadshow’ Expert Theo Burrell Dies at 39

Theo Burrell, an “Antiques Roadshow” expert in ceramics and glass, has died at 39.

Burrell was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2022 and became a patron of the organization Brain Tumor Research in 2023.

Her death was confirmed on Instagram with a post that read, “It is with great sadness that I share the news that Theo passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Wednesday afternoon. Neither she nor her medical team foresaw this happening quite so quickly.”

The post continued, “She was an incredible person who fought hard for her family, friends and raising awareness of this cruel disease.”

Burrell was given 12-18 months to live, but exceeded that timeline to enjoy some special milestones with her family.

The statement continued, “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 message said that the cancer community added “comfort and strength to her in her darkest moments.” 

The post closed by saying Theo wanted others to “find hope in her story,” adding, “Hope that the statistics aren’t gospel and that one day they’ll be very different.”

In March, Burrell opened up about her journey in a video for the Department of Health and Social Care to push for more government-funded cancer research.

She revealed that she had brain surgery and 17 rounds of chemotherapy to battle the disease.

“I am running out of treatment options, and I will lose my life to this cancer,” she said. “There’s absolutely no doubt about it.”

Burrell went on, “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.”

She married her husband Alex in March. Afterward, she wrote on Instagram, “On 28th March Alex and I celebrated our wedding with our closest family and friends and it was amazing!! 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 began working as an expert on “Antiques Roadshow” in 2018. She also worked as an expert at Lyon & Turnbull auctioneers.