Are those jobs for real? Where do the crew sleep? Your Race Across the World questions, answered

Telegraph

08-05-2025

Launched in 2019, initially on BBC Two (before graduating to BBC One), Race Across the World has a simple premise. Five duos – married, mates, siblings or parent/child – have to get from one global location to another. For the current, fifth, series, the starting point is Huanghuacheng, in China, and the finish line is Kanyakumari at the south of India, 14,000km away. With air flights banned, the competitors have to complete the journey on the same budget as the price of a one-way plane ticket to their destination, which this time is the equivalent of £22 each to spend per day.
The only other travel equipment they're permitted is a world map, a GPS tracker and a travel guide with local job adverts. They give up their smartphones, bank/credit cards and access to the internet. If they run out of money, it's race over. They can take jobs if funds are running low but they're racing against the clock. Each episode ends with a timed check in, and the first pair to arrive at the final check-in win £20,000 (a sum that hasn't changed since series one).
How are the routes decided?
The show's producers ensure the routes are possible to complete by first sending two researchers out on the road on the same tight budget. 'They really have to stress-test that route, so they can come back and provide us all the knowledge,' says the BBC's Michael Jochnowitz, who commissioned the series, 'meaning we know what the choices and challenges will be that the contributors face.'
The method is inspired by the dry run for series one (London to Singapore), where one researcher's miserable videos stuck on the Caspian Sea due to bad weather were so gripping, producers made sure that route was included, only to have the same researcher stuck in the same location with the contestants when it happened again.
How are contestants picked for the show?
'We interrogate would-be contestants' motivations very hard to make sure they're not just taking part for money, or to boost their Instagram following or to get some product endorsements,' explains the show's senior line producer Maria Kennedy. 'They are not normal TV contestants, and they wouldn't apply for anything else.' The auditions are tougher than most. Would-be racers come to London where their phones and wallets are taken away and they have to see how far they can get in an hour.
What motivates people to apply?
'We knew we were racing but that wasn't why we did it,' explains Stephen Redding, 62, who raced with his wife Viv, 66 in the last series (Japan to Indonesia). 'We didn't want to dribble into old age, we both have health issues, we loved the Canadian landscape in season three and we thought we still have some adventure in us.'
What are the rules about safety?
The production team set some safety rules – about travelling at night and crossing borders safely, for instance – and organise visas and vaccines in advance, but leave everything else in the hands of the players. 'Every bus and train option is researched,' says former executive producer Stephen Day. 'But we can't predict what's going to happen, so we have to be ready to adapt. Until someone does it for real, you don't know what will happen.'
How big is the camera team accompanying each duo?
Each pair has a director, a producer/camera operator who uses a small handheld camera and carries a GoPro for tricky shots, plus a local fixer and medical support – which follows them about an hour behind.
There's also a director of photography and a series director following all teams to shoot the big sweeping drone shots that capture the beauty and scale of the countries they're travelling through, but also the hustle and bustle backdrop of travelling, as the contestants often move too fast for establishing shots.
Where are the rest of the production team?
The show has what it describes as two 'war rooms'. 'There's one in London and one on location,' explains former executive producer Mark Saben. 'So in series three, [producer] Maria Kennedy and I were out on location [Canada] at each checkpoint. And then there's another team of story producers who are getting the [camera] feed coming through and taking notes. It's a huge logistical undertaking.'
What happens if a team secures a ride but there isn't enough room for the crew?
The show rules state that they always have to have at least one production person with them. 'We wouldn't just let them go and hope to see them again at the next gas station,' says Kennedy.
Do the camera crew know how rival teams are getting on?
They do not. Kennedy explains, 'We keep a decent firewall between them to keep it authentic for everyone. It's only if they're all coming into the same transport hub, for instance, that we'd give them a heads up.'
Do the producers ever intervene?
Kennedy says that the entire team is hands off, even when some of the contestants' decisions are so bonkers, or the mistakes they make so screamingly obvious, that you assume it's a bit of a setup. They're not even allowed to provide hungry contestants with food.
What happens if it's late at night and a team hasn't found somewhere to sleep?
Kennedy confirms that, in some cases, they have had to intervene for safety reasons. 'Sometimes that happens, but most of the time we prefer them to find their own accommodation.'
Do the crew get luxury accommodation along the way?
The crews don't get to sleep in luxury hotels or eat in fine restaurants, they're slumped in coaches or hitching on the back of trucks along with the contestants, although they do get some downtime at the checkpoint where they're allowed 48 hours to crash, to rest and recover.
Are teams reunited with their phones at checkpoints?
No.
Are they allowed any contact with home?
Only if there's what's termed as a 'significant issue' with their loved ones back in the UK. At that point, they would be allowed to speak to a nominated person.
Are the jobs the contestants take on actually real?
Jochnowitz insists they are, and that they're sourced during the production team's initial recce. 'They'll find out where there are local job opportunities. We don't approach places asking if they'd create a job for the purposes of the show. Those are real jobs for real money. Or, if it's not money, then it's bed and board – things like that.'
What's done to look after the contestants' mental welfare?
At each checkpoint, there are psychologists available on video chat (via the producers) to talk to the contestants and make sure they're not suffering. They also check in when filming is over and just before the series airs, when the media pressure starts to build. 'Because we will intervene if they're in danger, and we have a real duty of care,' says Day. 'If contestants – and there have been some – who are so focused on budget that they're not eating, then you have to get them to spend money on food.'
Are the contestants allowed any luxury items?
Yes. From this year's line-up, Tom (travelling with his mother, Caroline) brought an MP3 player, Letitia took wipes, while her sister Elizabeth had essential oils; Melvyn packed a calculator and also an MP3 player, and his brother Brian brought earplugs with him. And lest we forget 20-year-old Alex in series one, who ferried two large bottles of Versace cologne in his backpack.