Gemma Collins reveals her beloved mum Joan has passed away aged 70 - a month after she was rushed to hospital with pneumonia

Gemma Collins has revealed her beloved mum Joan has passed away 'peacefully' and 'surrounded by love' at the age of 70.The former TOWIE star, 45, took to Instagram on Wednesday evening to share the sad news with her followers. Joan's cause of death has not been revealed. Joan battled pneumonia twice in the last six months of her life. She was admitted to hospital last month, with Gemma writing at the time: 'Sending my mummy so much love she has caught Pneumonia.' Gemma penned in her tribute to her mum as she announced her death: 'My heart is shattered into a million pieces. Today our beautiful mum passed away peacefully surrounded by LOVE. Mum, Today, every piece of my heart left with you.'No words will ever be enough to thank you for loving me, guiding me, and being my mum. You gave me life, you gave me strength, and you gave me memories that I will carry for every day I have left.'The house will never sound the same without you. Your voice, your smile, your little ways, they are woven into every corner of my life. I will miss you more than I could ever put into words.'I hope you are finally free from pain. I hope you can walk again, laugh again, and feel light. I hope you are surrounded by peace and by everyone who has gone before you, watching over us with love. Gemma Collins has revealed that her mum Joan has passed away 'peacefully' and 'surrounded by love' The former TOWIE star, 45, took to Instagram on Wednesday evening to share the sad news with her followers 'Thank you for every hug, every sacrifice, every lesson, and every moment. Thank you for being my mum. It has been the greatest privilege to be your daughter.'Until we meet again, I will carry your love with me. I will look for you in the sunrise, in the flowers, in the birds singing, and in the quiet moments when I need you most. Sleep peacefully, my beautiful Mum.'You will be loved forever, missed every single day, and never, ever forgotten. Gemma.'She was quickly inundated with messages of support from her nearest and dearest, including celebrity friends such as Dani Dyer, who wrote: 'Oh Gemma I'm so so sorry, thinking of you.'Amy Childs added: 'Thinking of you Gemma, what a beautiful lady your mum was, xxxx RIP beautiful Joan xxx'Lauren Goodger commented: 'So sorry Gem. Thinking of you and sending you so much love my darling, thinking of you all xx.'Joan battled pneumonia twice in the last six months of her life. She was admitted to hospital last month, with Gemma writing at the time: 'Sending my mummy so much love she has caught pneumonia but she is doing well thank you to all the wonderful nurses and doctors for looking after her.'Still looking glam mummy.'Gemma's mother has battled with ill health in recent years, in December 2025, she was admitted to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, Essex, after contracting pneumonia but she made a recovery after five weeks.In March 2020 she was hospitalised with pneumonia for the first time.In 2024, Joan was in intensive care after she stopped breathing. The health scare left Gemma fearing the worst after Joan made an emergency dash to the hospital.She told The Sun newspaper at the time: 'I've had a lot of stress the last couple of weeks.'My mum was suddenly taken into hospital and I was told she could die. They would not resuscitate her if she went into cardiac arrest. Joan battled pneumonia twice in the last six months of her life. She was admitted to hospital last month In 2024 Joan also appeared on Gemma's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? which delved into their family past The episode traced the story of her mother Joan's biological mother who was forced to give her up to a foster family leading Gemma to break down 'So imagine that, you know, I'm in the hospital having been out for dinner the day before, and then the next day I'm like, 'Wow', so that was a massive shock.'Joan, a former hairdresser, was well-loved by TOWIE fans and made several appearances on the show.In 2024, Joan also appeared on Gemma's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? which delved into their family past. The episode traced the story of her mother Joan's biological mother who was forced to give her up to a foster family. Joan had lived most of her life thinking that her mother - also called Joan - had abandoned her. But Gemma and the team on the show discovered she may have been forced to give up her daughter amid misdiagnosed mental health problems. Joan had lived most of her life thinking that her mother - also called Joan - had abandoned her Gemma's grandmother was in and out of psychiatric hospitals from 13 years old and was eventually diagnosed as a chronic schizophrenic - which has now been disputed.An expert then said that when she got pregnant as a teenager out of wed lock she could have been told to give up Joan and was forced to limit her contact with her child due to her 'mental health issues'.Joan broke down as she spoke about feeling abandoned and unloved as a child as she said: 'You're always left wondering. My foster family was my family. I went into foster care a two weeks old.'As Joan and Gemma read her foster statement they both broke down in tears as they said: 'This is a lot. It's a huge mix of emotions.'Joan herself then told how she was sent to a children's home at age 13 for playing truant and cried again as she told how she was bullied there.In tears she said: 'I went in with my suitcase, it brings it all back and the other kids started taking all my clothes off me. It felt like a prison to me. I went back home after that.'Of her biological mother Joan added: 'She did come and meet me my real mother once. We had a cup of tea and then she said goodbye. I only saw her three times.'Viewers penned on X amid the emotional scenes: 'Not knowing a family history must be so hard bless her. #WDYTYA.','That's so sad #wdytya.','God, poor Gemma's mom #wdytya.',At the start of the episode Gemma said: 'My mum was fostered. Why was she left at the hospital? Why did they not try and come back for her? She never talks about it. I just think it's too painful for her to go there.'The clip ended with Gemma saying: 'It will be nice to know where my mum is from. And just put all the pieces together.'Gemma has recently spoken out on her own health issues, describing how her Ozempic journey left her 'liberated' before she encountered side effects and was forced to stop after she experienced a gallbladder attack.She detailed how taking the drug was 'great, it was liberating, freeing' yet she was forced to end her journey, although she has still managed to shed 3.4st.