BBC travel show Destination X reveals filming secrets and where stars sleep

Yahoo

6 days ago

How is Destination X filmed? How is it cast? Where do contestants sleep?
Destination X is filmed on two coaches over 32 days travelling through Europe.
The contestants and two coaches make the journey of more than 11,000km across different countries, turning Europe into a board game.
The aim of the game is simple; contestants must be able to guess where they are — Destination X — on a map using the clues given to them along the way. The person who guesses the furthest away is sent home.
How is Destination X filmed?
When on the move off the coach, the contestants have to wear blackout goggles before they get to their specific stop. Production staff don't want to give away too much of the scenery because it could spoil the game.
Behind the scenes, there was a crew of 190 people there to film the reality series originally from Belgium. Its host, Rob Brydon, said he was "attracted" by the scale of the BBC show. He said: "Being a part of a show as ambitious as this, with as huge a crew and as huge a team. I knew it would be a real challenge to see if I could steer that ship."
Cameras are rolling when the contestants climb aboard the coach for the adventure. It is not an ordinary coach. The windows are opaque most of the time while travelling. A flick of a switch allows the windows to briefly work like normal, allowing the contestants to have a snapshot into where they really are.
It is a luxury coach with green velvet chairs, making up comfortable seating areas.
Keeping the real-time location a secret proved a challenge during any stops for production staff along the way.
Brydon explained: "All the time when we are out and about on our travels, they are trying to keep players in the dark, so they aren't allowed to see anything, but more importantly, to hear anything. For example, if a crew member went off to buy a coffee, they had to be careful not to come back with a branded coffee cup that might give away the name of where they were."
The host admitted he slipped up on revealing a location.
"I remember once we were at a particular location and I knew that in a few days' time we would be at another location and I said to somebody in the production team: 'Oh I can't wait until we get to X' and then I suddenly realised one of the players was close and I thought 'Oh no what have you done' — Luckily, they didn't hear me!"
Where do contestants sleep?
It's not like The Traitors, where the contestants don't sleep at the Scottish castle and really spend the night at a nearby airport hotel. This doesn't make it to the screen on The Traitors, instead, the participants are filmed in the bedroom quarters of the castle.
On Destination X, there is a second coach which follows behind for sleeping. Unlike The Traitors, the sleeping quarters are shown on the BBC show.
The sleeping coach is made up of a corridor with bunk beds on either side. To give the contestants a degree of privacy, there is a curtain they can draw across their bed. The sleeping quarters also offer the contestants a more private area to share secrets with who they want, potentially without other listening ears.
Host Brydon said: "They have nice bunks but nonetheless you're sleeping on a bus. You lose your privacy; I would have found that very difficult indeed."
The map room
Each episode ends with the contestants going to a special map room.
It is a room hidden away on the bus, in a similar way to how the traitors meet in a secret part of the Scottish castle at night.
In the map room, the contestants guess where Destination X is. They don't have long to place their cross on the map on the tablet in the room.
Secret toilets
There is a toilet on the main coach, which is addressed in a fun way while the show is starting. But there are also secret portable toilets that aren't talked about on the show.
Behind the scenes, executive show producer Dan Adamson told press, including The Telegraph: "We set ourselves a rule which gave ourselves one problem: no number twos on the bus... It's about humanity, it's about being kind to each other. We had to create a system."
It was explained that a car pulled along portable toilets that were attached to a trailer. The coach would have to pull over when anyone needed the toilet. To ensure the game wasn't spoiled, the contestants had to wear their blackout goggles and were chaperoned to the portable toilets.
Filming outside of the coach
There is filming that takes place outside of the coaches, too. It begins in the airport, and the contestants take a ride on a helicopter before climbing aboard the coaches.
But the coaches do stop along the way. The show's executive producer, Adamson, explained how it works to the press: "We take over whole castles, we run a train on a public network, we take over cable car systems."
These moments are tightly controlled to ensure specific clues are given to the contestants, without totally spoiling the game.
Destination X's casting
Executive show producer Adamson said they weren't "scared to put good players in".
"It's rare you get a chance to turn the whole of Europe into a board game," he said.
People were chosen because of the skills and life experience they have. To name a few, there is a crime writer, Deborah, who puts together puzzles and an endurance athlete, Nick, who has done a marathon in every country.
Destination X will air on BBC One and iPlayer on Wednesday at 9pm. There will be two episodes each week.