Race Across The World 2026 contestants reveal all about their strengths, weaknesses and strategies

Race Across the World returns to iPlayer and BBC One for its sixth series on 2 April 2026, as five intrepid teams embark on the journey of a lifetime, racing more than 12,000km across Europe and Asia, the largest continental area on earth.

The route carves through eight distinctive countries: Italy, Greece, Türkiye, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia – each bringing its own language, culture and climate. In the most extreme race to date, conditions swing from 30-degree Mediterranean heat to subarctic temperatures of –20°C. And they’ve got to do it all on a budget of less than £26 per person per day.

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The teams will race from Palermo on the island of Sicily all the way to the remote village of Hatgal on the shores of lake Hövsgöl, in northern Mongolia. Retracing parts of the ancient Silk Road, they’ll follow in the footsteps of traders who once connected the east and west across these vast, unforgiving landscapes.

They’ll have to navigate their way from the bustling streets of Italy – one of the world’s most visited destinations – to one of its most remote, the windswept Mongolian steppe. With smartphones, internet access and bank cards left behind, they are armed with nothing but the cash equivalent of flying the route.

The race will test the five teams both physically and emotionally, pushing them to their absolute limits. But with their feet on the ground and their eyes wide open, the rewards will be immense and the memories unforgettable. Only one team can emerge victorious as they battle to be the first to reach the finish line and claim the £20,000 prize in a Race Across the World.

MW/VHW

Meet the Race Across the World Series 6 Teams

Jo and Kush

Childhood best friends from Liverpool, Jo (19, College Student) and Kush (19, gap-year student), are the youngest duo in the race. Still living at home with their mums and fresh out of school, this is their first real taste of independence. 

Why did you want to take part in the series?

Kush: We were both at a sort of standstill in deciding what to do with our futures. So, when the opportunity came up, we thought it would be a fantastic experience and something we could look back on and learn from.

Jo: We had just finished sixth form, got our A-Levels and the opportunity to travel with the race before we go to university, made it even more exciting for us.

Have you got a strategy going into the race?

Jo: We have discussed little things. For example, if we want to get a member of the public's attention, my role will be getting their attention first, and then Kush will be getting the information.

Kush: I think that being young, we will kind of hopefully be brushed over like we don’t have the experience, and then we can secretly work in silence and take over.

Have you picked up any tips from previous series?

Jo: I see a lot of people bring whiteboards and they draw a picture of a bus or draw a picture of a train and then work out how to say it in their language. So, we've got a whiteboard and some pens to help us with that.

Kush: One tip I learned, which was like what Jo was saying, is to bring a map folder. Equipment wise; it has been helpful to see what all the other contestants brought.

How have you prepared for the trip?

Kush: I’ve done some travelling on my own, so I’ve been reflecting on what worked for me and what didn't work. I spent three months in Thailand backpacking, but I think that backpack may be a little lighter. I also spoke to my Nan as she's been travelling a lot, so I tried to get some of her insights and advice for new places.

Jo: Because it’s my first time backpacking, I've been using other people's experiences to my advantage, and listening to their do's and don'ts. I’m listening a lot to Kush.

Jo, how are you feeling about travelling in this way?

Jo: Excited, honestly. I'm down for getting in the nitty gritty and having them hard experiences, because I know the good experiences are going to be the best ever.

Kush – having travelled like this before, are you happy travelling with a backpack?

Kush: Absolutely, but even though I have gone out and done it before and been somewhere where I don’t know the language, I feel way more stressed than Jo is. He is very chilled.

How competitive are you both? Are you in it to win it?

Jo: Absolutely, but we also do want to enjoy where we are!

Kush: I agree. I'm personally less bothered about the winning and here more for the experience. It’s such a niche thing that not many people in the world will ever be able to do.

What do you think your strengths and weaknesses are?

Jo: I think our strength would be our ease to speak to strangers. We don't have any issues with approaching people or asking people for advice, so I think that will definitely benefit us.

Kush: We're also not very fussy. We're not like chicken nuggets and chips kind of people, and so I think that we will be fine with daily hostels, not showering for a few days and eating local street food. So, I think one of our strengths is that we can do well in a lack of comfort. Weakness wise, I think that personally, I know I'm going to get very anxious and stressed out a lot, and I know that's going to make things difficult for me, and probably Jo.

Jo: My weakness will probably be my appetite if I’m honest.

What are you imagining your biggest challenges might be during the trip?

Jo: If it’s hot and we're in a sweaty bus trying to go to sleep, we will struggle. We are really sleepy people and if we cannot be bothered to do something, it will really affect how well we do.

Kush: I think I will struggle with shorter distances. When it's going from street to street, I find that more difficult than actually doing a long journey, because people are saying, take a left, take a right and I know I get flustered. I’m going to have to really keep on top of writing down instructions, and times, and the little things that you need to remember.

What roles do you think you'll take in the race?

Jo: My role will be getting people's attention and being social. I am quite good at staying very grounded in stressful situations. So, when it does get stressful, I can help Kush get back into gear.

Would you say that you cope well during a crisis? Are you calm under pressure?

Jo: Absolutely. I do get stressed, but I don't get stressed as easily as other people.

Kush: I'm the opposite. I'm a bit of a catastrophizer, and I’ll always think of the worst case until proven otherwise. Sometimes I think I do just need a slap on my face and to be told it's not a big deal. I think being a bit more on edge might help in some ways, because although Jo is my best friend, his time management skills could do with a bit of help.

How do you feel about travelling without mobile phones or credit cards?

Kush: It’s a shock. It's such an easy comfort to open your phone and when I was travelling, I did a lot of bookings through my phone so I think it will be a really big challenge to not be able to pull up Google Maps and look for directions, book transport, find out where the train is or call my mum.

Jo: I think it will start to hit us when we're feeling stressed. I don’t think it’s fully hitting me yet that I can’t call my mum anytime I need. I think we will struggle at the points of the race where the next train is like in five hours time, and we’re bored.

What's the most unusual thing that you've brought with you?

Kush: My mum gave me this stone, and she says it's a Celtic good luck charm. She’s had it on her keys for three years now, and she just took it off, and said you keep it.

Jo: I have a baseball so that me and Kush can have a nice game of catch, and I've also got a chess set which rolls up and is backgammon, chess, and checkers.

Name the top three home comforts you'll struggle to live without?

Kush: My mum, the internet, and accessible snacks.

Jo: My family and basketball. I play every single day so not having that to go to will be weird.

What's the one reason you've chosen to do this challenge together?

Kush: I found the advert, and it just made sense to pick Jo, because there's not many people I think I could handle two months straight with, so it had to be someone I was already so close to.

Jo: When Kush told me to apply, I didn’t think we would get here. We’re so close that we understand each other so well without even communicating, which is such a vital thing if you're travelling with someone. I think both our personalities will also help us win – we’re both so competitive.

What do the rest of your family make of you two doing this trip together?

Kush: It was a big yes. I knew about the show because my mum and younger brothers would watch it all the time. We all watched season 5 together and my mum was getting super excited but also really nervous for us as she wouldn’t know where we were until we got home.

Jo: Same for me. My family is all rooting for us. My mum wrote me a little message on a bookmark, but I haven’t read it yet. I will probably wait until it hits me that I can’t see or speak to her or if we are in a sticky situation. She gave me a book as well with lots of little gratitude quotes which she used to read before bed when she went travelling, so hopefully it will come in handy.

If there's one thing that you hope this race will change about you as a person or your relationship with each other, what would it be?

Kush: I think it would be not to be so anxious about everything. By the end of it, I don't want to stress whether everything is the right or wrong decision and be confident in myself.

Jo: We're at the stage of our lives, where our brains haven’t fully developed yet. We’re almost there, but this will hopefully give us that final push to realise who we are as people and maybe even potential career paths.

What's the most annoying habit of each other's that you're going to struggle with?

Kush: Snoring!

Jo: Probably when Kush starts panicking.

What are you hoping to get out of this experience?

Jo: A story that we can tell other people. I want to meet new people; I like to make new friends.

Kush: I believe hardship builds personality and this is a very niche but intense situation so coming out of the experience with a bit more maturity and different perspective on life - it’s not just Liverpool.

How do you feel about being in Italy and where the race might take you next?

Jo: I'm happy that we're in a hot country and the sun's out so I can't really complain. We've both never been here too, so it's new for the both of us, which is nice,

Kush: From my very basic level of geography, I like the surrounding areas of Italy. So, I think any direction we're going to go, it’s going to be fun!

Katie and Harrison

Inseparable siblings Katie (21, Account Manager) and Harrison (23, Finance Assistant) from Manchester may do everything together, but they could not be more different when it comes to the race.

Why did you want to take part in the series?

Harrison: It was an opportunity to travel that I wouldn't have given myself the opportunity to do. I would have just gone down the standard life path of work, university, carrying on working and buying a house. I would never have given myself an opportunity to go out there and travel and take that time off from being responsible.

Katie: I think I'm the same as I was a bit apprehensive at first and it was Harrison that gave me the push. I have always wanted to travel, but I didn't see an opportunity in the future where we would be able to do it. So, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and a perfect time to do it.

Have you got a strategy going into the race?

Katie: I think we're going to be quite tight on budget, because Harrison is tight anyway. I think the first few weeks we want to really try because we don't want to get kicked out and we want to be efficient. And then after that, maybe we can enjoy it a bit more.

Harrison: First three weeks, we are going to properly race, and then maybe enjoy the experience side and live it more. Then, hopefully in the last couple of weeks race mode back on again.

Have you picked up any tips from previous series?

Harrison: I've watched them all. I think just communicate as much as you can with locals, ask as many questions as you can and don't be scared to ask questions. You're never going to see these people again so just go for it and get as much information as you can.

Katie: Yes, and be really careful with your budget.

Have you prepared for the trip?

Harrison: I plan so much - everything about my life is planned out. Although this experience is about planning, it’s very much one leg at a time or one journey at a time, so I've not really wanted to plan too much. It’s just so different to what my normal life is. You can't learn every language, can you? It's so difficult to plan when you don't know what you're planning for.

Katie: I got a lash lift, and I got my hair done, so haven't prepared basically.

Would you say that you're both quite adventurous?

Harrison: Katie is, I'm not. Day to day, I'm quite risk adverse and just live in the same routine. So I'm trying to put that aside for this.

Katie: I'm up for anything. I love anything, especially to do with extreme stuff, heights and things like that. I generally have a never say no motto, I never say no to anything.

Have you ever travelled this way?

Katie: No, the closest I've done is I did a week in Italy by myself. I just got a train to a different town every night. Other than that, it's really been either a little weekend trip or a family holiday.

Harrison: I’ve done city breaks but not backpacking.

How do you feel about travelling in that kind of way?

Katie: I think I'm really nervous about the weight of the backpack. Then I got it fitted properly, and I feel a bit more confident now, but I think I'm going to get very sick of it. I'm going to want to kill my backpack.

Harrison: I’ve found it tough already, just living out of it. Anytime you want something, you’ve got to empty everything and then put it all back in. It’s a bit of a pain.

How competitive are you both? Are you in it to win it?

Katie: We are. We are definitely in it to win it, but I think we do understand this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and we don't want to be too narrow minded and ruin the whole experience.

Harrison: Yeah, the motivation isn't the money at the end, it's to try and live a different life for a couple of months and just experience everything, and if we can win it whilst doing it, that is great.

What do you think your strengths and weaknesses are?

Harrison: I think our bond and relationship is a strength. I think we'll be okay, even if one of us gets really down, or we get annoyed with each other, we know we'll come back from that.

Katie: Your obvious strength is money and planning and maths.

Harrison: Your strength is your more social side.

What roles do you think you'll take on in the race?

Harrison: I’m on money control, and then Katie's on snack control, because I'll eat them all. If we've got a long bus journey, I will eat them all within the first half an hour, so Katie's going to ration them for me because I don't have any control on that. Social interaction, I think we'll probably share.

Katie: I think we'll probably share social interaction, but maybe led more by me at the start, and then you'll come into your own. But you will definitely be on the budget.

What do you think your biggest challenge might be during the trip?

Katie: Mine definitely would be the lack of alone time. I'm super independent, and I just love being alone and having time to myself. So, I think that that might get me.

Harrison: I think mine will be hunger, or not even hunger but just wanting to eat. I think boredom as well on the journeys. Normally you have your phone to fill time, so what do you do?

How do you feel about travelling without a phone or credit cards?

Harrison: We feel okay about not having our phones, I've not missed the actual content on my phone, but it's just not having it there to pick up. It’s an automatic reflex, and if I think of something, I'll just go and google it, but I can’t.

Katie: It will become annoying, especially with tickets and stuff, just wanting to tap or buy a ticket quickly. I think that'll be quite tedious and become annoying.

Would you say that you cope well during a crisis? Are you calm under pressure?

Katie: I think it depends on the crisis, because I think I could be quite calm and laid back, but then I also could just freak out.

Harrison: I'm not going to freak out. I just get very silent, and I'll get a bit more introverted.

How do you feel about talking to strangers? Do you think one of you will be better than the other?

Harrison: We are going to just try communicating the best we can. The majority of people you speak to aren’t going to understand and I think once you've done it five or six times, you will just have to go, ‘alright this is what I've got to do now!’

Katie: I think the worst they can say is I don't want to talk to you.

What's the most unusual thing you've brought with you?

Harrison: A calculator, and I've written down all the Man United fixtures in a notebook, so I know when to ask what the score is.

Katie: I've got my harmonica with me. I can literally only play five seconds of Piano Man, but I thought maybe I'd have time to practice and that might lift the spirits, or I could do some busking. Or it might come in handy if we find an Irish bar. Other than that, I've got my heatless curlers and eight face masks.

Name the top three home comforts you'll struggle to live without.

Harrison: A cup of tea, my phone and biscuits. Custard creams are my favourite, but offer me any, I won't say no.

Katie: Mine would probably be scrolling on TikTok, my bedroom, where I’m by myself, and maybe being in my car and singing to music.

What's the one reason you chose to do this challenge together?

Katie: I couldn't do it with anyone else. I think we'll just have such good time, and I think I wouldn't enjoy it with anyone else as much as I would with Harrison.

What do the rest of your family make of you doing this trip together?

Harrison: They're very pleased and proud that we're going off to do it together. I think you probably don't see most kids that have that close bond to be able to go and do this, so they're happy with that.

Katie: It was mum's idea, so she’s very happy. They're just really proud and excited for us.

If there's one thing that you hope this this race will change about you or your relationship, what would it be?

Harrison: I hope to become a little bit more adventurous and live less regimented and a little bit more spontaneous - have a bit more sense of living a little.

Katie: Maybe just being able to make decisions for myself and doing things for myself. Understand what I want to do, rather than living for someone else. I also think the people aspect; I’m getting better with people, but I still don’t think I’m great with people.

Will there be anything surprising that viewers will learn about you on the trip? Any quirky habits, or anything that we should look out for?

Harrison: They might be surprised at how we speak to each other. We're quite brutal, but there's no meaning behind it, we've just grown up in that sort of environment.

Katie: We're such good mates, but we can be so mean to each other.

What's the most annoying habit of each other's that you're going to struggle with?

Katie: Harrison’s planning and how he doesn't want things to change. If he's got a set of plans in mind, he won't want that to change, and he won't be open to change, and I think that would be really annoying. Then maybe him also being really strict with budget.

Harrison: Katie’s stubbornness to admit wrongdoing. She’s happy to change her mind on a plan and stuff like that, but sometimes she thinks she's right and she's clearly not right. For example, she’s said something wrong and she'll be like, no, I didn't say that, and I’ll be like yes you did. She’s so stubborn with it, it's infuriating.

Are there any funny stories from when you've travelled together before that spring to mind?

Katie: We went to Turkey last year, just the two of us. We spent a week in an all-inclusive hotel, and the air conditioning was spitting out at us in the night, and then the toilet flooded. We still haven’t had a refund or anything.

What are you hoping to get out of this experience?

Harrison: 10 grand! No, I just want to experience as much as I can, as many cultures, countries, different ways of life and to broaden my perspective and hopefully incorporate that into everyday life.

Katie: I think I just want to have fun, maybe become a bit more confident, just have a great time and experience as much as I can.

How do you feel about being it's in Italy, and where the race might take you next?

Katie: We've been speculating. I’m happy to be in Italy, it's a bit more comforting than being somewhere far across the world.

Harrison: Europe tends to be quite similar in terms of the vibe and structure of the city, so it feels a little bit more comforting when we found out we were in Palermo.

Molly and Andrew

Junior Doctor Molly (23) and her father Andrew (54, Geography Teacher) from Northern Ireland have always been close, but as Molly prepares to start her medical career, she wants to prove to her dad that she’s more capable than he gives her credit for.

Why did you want to take part in the series?

Molly: We keep calling it a joke gone too far. We were sitting watching it on TV one night, and the option to apply came up and every time we watch it, we always say that we would love to do it. The next day, the ad popped up on daddy’s Facebook, and so we put an application in thinking nothing of it, and it’s kind of just been a whirlwind since then.

Andrew: I am living a dream here. This is what I've always wanted to do but never had the willingness to do it, nor the money or the circumstances, but I’ve always wanted to go backpacking. I have a wife who would very much not want to do it - it would be her ultimate nightmare to have a backpack on going around places. But I’ve always wanted to do it and so to do it with my daughter, I am absolutely delighted.

Have you got a strategy going into the race?

Molly: Enjoy every second, and what we get out of it is what we get out of it.

Andrew: We’re thinking about it all the time, but there is so much unknown. You don't know where you're going; you don’t know what to pack - all those kinds of things. So, I guess strategy has not been a part that we have really thought about. We just want to experience the culture and see things. We haven’t spoken about winning, it’s about the experiences, but the competitive nature is there within us which will come out when it has to.

Molly: For us, winning would be second to doing it. We’re competitive by nature and we will give it 100% no matter what, but if that's us coming last, or if that's us coming first, we will just do our best to do what we can. We haven't traveled like this before. We don't know languages so we’re maybe on the back foot in comparison to the other couples.

Have you picked up any tips from previous series at all?

Andrew: We have, in fairness, we’ve bought a calculator which we wouldn’t have brought, and we’ve made sure we’ve got something to write things down on. We have not overly thought about our strategy. We would like to experience things and see a bit of culture off the beaten track.

Have you done anything to prepare for the trip?

Molly: We’ve googled random things, absolutely random things. I looked up ‘How much is the average price of a hostel in Chile?’ and random facts of knowledge, but now we’re in Italy it’s just like oh my goodness.

Andrew: I went into the bookshop in my local town, and I sat down and started picking up travel guides and travel books. I remember saying to myself, ‘What are you doing? You have no idea where you're going!’ but I was just picking up ones from places that I wanted to travel to.

Would you say that you're both quite adventurous?

Molly: Yeah, I think we're both try everything once kind of attitude and seize the opportunity.

Andrew: I guess it depends on your definition of adventure. If it's if it's having a go with things, yes, we'll have a go with everything. But in terms of adventures in my life, probably no, hence why this is so off the beaten track for me, but it's also the thing that I've always wanted to do.

How do you feel about backpacking and what's to come?

Molly: We’re good at being rough and ready, daddy a lot more than me. I was packing shampoo and conditioner and he said, ‘why do you need both of them for, I have a 3in1?’. Hence why he has no hair. Daddy's definition of rough is that he would live in two t-shirts if he could.

Andrew: Molly has been sent on a secret mission by my wife to make sure that I dress coordinated. Backpacking wise, I have never done it and it’s a totally new experience to me. The last time I had a backpack on my back was when I was in the Cubs, so that was when I was like 11.

What is the most unusual thing you've bought with you?

Andrew: I have a water bottle with a built-in compass. I don’t know where I am going but hopefully that will help. I’ve also bought an alarm clock. I psychologically need to know what time it is. If I knew I had to be up at a certain time, and I didn’t have an alarm clock, I wouldn't sleep.

Molly: We play a lot of cards at home, so I’ve bought some cards and downloaded some audio books and playlists, but you can’t fit loads on an iPod.

Has your family given you anything to take with you as a good luck charm?

Molly: I have the colours of our town on our backpacks, our local kind of football clubs and we've got sunflowers for daddy's friend that passed away, Marie, and then daddy's school colours on it. It’s very Irish of us to support our colours and be proud of where we're from and who and who we're doing this for.

Andrew: The family has been so supportive of us and so excited. They’ve given us little trinkets but being where we’re from, it’s generally prayers to keep you safe. I have my father in law's old rosary beads and the crucifix from it, so it's more a prayerful thing. The more this process goes on, the more I have realised the team that surrounds us back home. I’m delighted we’re staring in Palermo, in Sicily, because my mum's next-door neighbour was from Sicily, and so she has a connection with us.

What’s the reaction from your family been like?

Molly: Everyone's been amazing. We're very lucky, everyone is so excited. My grandad invited everybody around the house when we left because he thought it was live on TV. We have a big Irish family and so the excitement has taken over.

Are you in it to win it?

Andrew: I want the best of both worlds. I want the best of the experience, but also, we of course like the idea of winning. Is it the most important thing in my mind at the moment? No, it's the experience. I would hate to have the idea that winning is the only thing, because then you're missing out so much. So winning is there, it's in the background, and that will take care of itself when it has to, but the experience is first and foremost.

Molly: As daddy says, second place is the first loser, and that is kind of the overriding opinion. We want to prove ourselves, and that is very much the story throughout our lives - push yourself to the best you can be. If that's last place, we'll take it. We'll be absolutely fuming, but we will take it. But if that's first place by Jesus, we'll push ourselves to get there. If we get eliminated, we won’t be able to go home.

What do you think your strengths and weaknesses are?

Molly: I can talk to anyone. I'm happy to walk up to someone and be stupid and go, ‘Where am I? What am I doing?’ That comes naturally to me and so that will probably be a strength.

Andrew: Her weakness is that she never shuts up. I kind of just go and lead by directness, and I need to rein that in every now and then, but Molly is quite good at reining that in for me. I can sometimes get caught in my own world instead of externalising it which in some ways is good, but I need to work on it.

What are you imagining your biggest challenges might be during the trip?

Molly: For me, I am kind of in my own head about hostels. It’s not staying in them that worries me; it’s trying to find them. I will just be knocking on doors like ‘let me sleep somewhere!’. We've also never done the cold before. We’ve never been skiing so I’m interested to see how we will find that if we are challenged with it.

What roles do you think you'll take in the race? Will one of you look after the budget? Will the others speak to strangers? How will you share it?

Molly: We’re very much of the opinion that we'll naturally fall into certain roles. I will probably do a lot of talking with the strangers, but Daddy's also very good at it. I think it’s about knowing when you're having a day where you're tired, that that other person picks up that extra 10 or 15% and knowing that you'll give that back the day after when they’re tired. I'm going to be the mummy probably. I'm the one with the nail clippers and the tweezers, but then Daddy will be the hugger and the shoulder to cry on.

Would you say you cope well during a crisis? Are you calm under pressure?

Molly: Yes, inherently, through the job I do, I'm good, but I get weird about weird things. It'll be over something random that would not annoy me any other day of the week, and then suddenly it drives me insane. Daddy's very good at noticing that, and he's the same so we can understand each other.

Andrew: I can probably over analyse and overthink, so I think I will reflect and be like ‘why did we not do that?’ and that would keep me awake at night and get me annoyed. So, I need to be careful overanalysing but that is just me and I’ve been like that for over 54 years. Inherently, I'm a teacher, so I give the persona of being in control, but inside I may feel absolutely destroyed. But if Molly picks up on it, she will kind of give me the nudge, and we get on with it. That’s our relationship.

How do you feel about travelling without a mobile phone or credit cards?

Andrew: I want to so desperately to ring my wife and say, ‘look where I am staying!’

Molly: As a family, our group chat never stops. It's constantly going and that’s what I think we'll struggle with. Not being able to use Google Maps and things will be annoying, but it's so exciting at the same time. I think it's kind of cool being able to say we did it with cash as well. I’m a student and I’ve never gotten out of the student lifestyle so I’m very good at living on nothing.

Andrew: We live in an area where there's no phone signal, so at times we have no signal or very little signal. So having no phone with me is not too much of an issue because it’s never stuck to me. The biggest bug bear my wife has with me is that I don't bring it enough, so the phone is not an issue. Maybe missing out on a few football results will be the only thing that would really annoy me. In terms of the money, we will need to make sure we are looking after each other and properly eating.

Molly: My fear is being too tight and over panicking and not actually spending anything. Like not getting a train because you think it’s really expensive but then missing all the trains or buses.

Can you tell me three home comforts that you'll struggle to live without?

Molly: I love hair dryers. I enjoy a shower, drying my hair and I enjoy going to the tap and getting clean water and not having to go to a shop and buy water. I will miss communication between friends as well. I love the gossip so If I can get TMZ on the TV, that will be going on.

Andrew: My wife, the dog and just home, I think.

What's the one reason that you chose to do this challenge together?

Andrew: Molly is my best friend after my wife. We have a great relationship and we’ve spent an awful lot of time together. She's been a good friend, and again, she's my daughter, but I can sit down and I can chat away to her. She's willing to listen, and I know the conversation doesn’t go any further. It's a father-daughter relationship; I understand that, but there's a bit more than that, and that's why I want to do it with Molly. She gets me; I get her, and she’s a great kid.

Molly: For me, I did the big thing and moved away to university. We were very close in the house and Daddy would always come to every one of my hockey matches and be my cheerleader. And it's just kind of letting him know that, no, I may not need him physically there anymore, but I need him as a buddy and as a friend and a confidant.

If there's one thing that you hope this race will change about either you as a person or your relationship, what would it be?

Andrew: I wouldn't want it to change anything. I know her ins and outs, and I know her intricacies, and I know what kind of makes her think. Before leaving, my wife was saying you know ‘make sure Molly…’ and I know Molly, I know how she operates. So, I would like it to just confirm what we already know. She's at a stage of her life now where she's becoming a young adult, and I would see my job as kind of finished. It's a different relationship now and that’s what this is about, to change from that daddy daughter relationship and form more of an equal partnership.

Is there anything surprising that viewers will learn about you?

Molly: Personally, I think that one, teachers have lives outside of school. I've always laughed when people go, ‘Oh my goodness, there's Mr. Clifford at the cinema’ like yes, he is a human and he does have children. I would also love for people to realise that medics and doctors are not insular, and they can be interesting, and normal. They can also be stupid. We are very good at a very niche thing, and I'm very happy to be the one that asks stupid questions and wants to learn. It doesn’t have to be always medical; medics have other hobbies.

Andrew: Where we are from is quite rural, so everyone is going to be shocked when they find out we are doing this. What I want to portray is that no matter what you are, no matter who you are, there's experiences out there for everybody. I've been a geography teacher all my life, but I love the outdoors, I love people and seeing and experiencing things. So, I want people to know that I’m not just that person they see in school.

What's the most annoying habit of each other's that you're going to struggle with?

Andrew: Snoring. Molly breathes heavily.

Molly: Daddy's just utter boyness. He is a boy that's lived with girls his entire life, and he still doesn't understand that we like to wash our hair and put on make-up. He's just such a boy.

How do you feel about being in Italy and where the race might take you next?

Molly: We were just discussing where we could go if we ended up going north, south, east or west, and figuring out where that would take us. First of all, we need to know how you get off the island.

Andrew: I was furiously going through my head asking, is there a bridge? Is there a train bridge? Wherever the race takes us, we will explore it and enjoy it. I love a good travel programme that really shows the world off. Not everybody can afford to travel, not everyone has the money to do it so to be able to do this, I am just living a dream.

Puja and Roshni

Puja (31, doctor) and her cousin Roshni (32, software engineer) from London have spent their twenties building successful careers and putting wanderlust on hold.

Why did you want to take part in the series?

Puja: I've been a massive fan of the show for years, since the first season came out. During the time I applied, I had hit a career block, and I decided that if I was hitting a career block, I would do something that I wanted to do for a very long time and so decided to apply for the race. That was the predominant reason why I just wanted to do something that was for myself, for my personal life, and something that will give me memories to last the rest of my life.

Have you both got a strategy for going into the race?

Roshni: I think the overall strategy is to try and get some distance covered every single day. So, the aim is not to spend one day without having gone even two hours closer towards the next checkpoint. There are things that are of course out of our control, so our overall strategy is to keep on the move. I think the longer you stay somewhere, the more likely you become not able to get a bus or train to your next destination. So, we will have in the back of our mind that each day we wake up, some distance needs to be covered.

Have you picked up any tips from previous series?

Roshni: We made a checklist!

Puja: We made this checklist of things that we would do anytime there is a change in situation, so like when we get off a train, when we leave a hotel etc. The first one is, do we both have our passport, money and map and then we both have to locate it. The second one is, check what the local time is and then change our watches appropriately. The third one is snacks; make sure we have enough snacks.

Have you ever backpacked before, like this, or done something similar?

Puja: I’ve only done it twice. Nothing like this ever before, but something maybe 10% similar. Carrying a backpack and walking around with your things, I've done that before and I have been planning on the go and not had a prescribed itinerary, which was actually really nice. So, I've done something similar, but we had phones available, we knew where we were and we could plan the next journey. I’ve never been in a situation where you can’t do that.

Roshni: The closest thing I've done is Cuba, where you have homestays, and then you don't necessarily know where you're going next, but you kind of just talk to the locals and figure it out from there. And you have no internet there, so you have to get around.

How are you feeling about travelling that way? Without your phones, does it feel quite daunting, or are you quite looking forward to it?

Roshni: I think we're looking forward to it. You know, our lives revolve around the phone, but it is weird. It's like one of our limbs has been taken away from us. You use it for everything.

Puja: You rely on your phone so much. We're trying to fill the gap in the day with card games, and I tried to meditate. We're trying to do things that don't involve screens, and as difficult as it is, it also has been quite fun.

Roshni: We’re getting creative.

How competitive are you both? Are you in it to win it or is the taking part more important?

Puja: I've suddenly become very competitive, which I never even knew existed. After seeing the surroundings we're in, I really want to just enjoy myself and immerse myself in the environment that we're in, so that’s a high priority. I initially thought Rosh was more competitive, but I think that the roles have switched.

So, what do you think your strengths and weaknesses are?

Roshni: Puja is quite organised, she likes keeping track of everything and is also full of positivity.

Puja: Roshni asks lots of questions, which will also come in handy. Rosh is also very good with finances, keeping budgets, and so I think she'll be great at managing the budget day to day. I think I'm quite good with the organisational side of things, and planning things out, or thinking about routes. I think that's where our strengths and weaknesses lie. I’m not good with money whatsoever, I will get hungry and spend 20 pounds on a pizza and I'll forget that there's a budget, but Rosh will be good with that.

What do you think will be your biggest challenges during the trip?

Roshni: Just not having the ability to talk to family. Being away from them for two months, is normally fine, but we'd have contact and we'd be probably chatting to them on WhatsApp or on the phone daily. Whereas now we don't really know what's going on in their lives and we don't know if anything's happened. I think I’ll also struggle with not having a hot shower, and maybe the backpack size.

Puja: I think the weight of the backpack is one thing that I'm going to struggle with. Also, the weather changes and not knowing what to pack.

What roles do you think you'll take in the race? Will one of you have the budget and the other talk to strangers?

Puja: In all honesty, I think most things other than the big thing of like finances and direction, most of it will be pretty shared. I think we'll have equal responsibility, because I think if one person is just doing one thing the whole time, it could get quite boring for them, so we’ll have to diversify the roles.

Would you say that you both cope well during a crisis? And are you calm under pressure?

Roshni: I think Puja, because of her job, is quite calm when it comes to a crisis, whereas I'm completely the opposite. I run around a bit, panic a little bit, and then figure it out, but generally, Puja is the calmer one, whereas I'd be like, the world is crumbling.

Puja: I think Rosh just needs to have her moment. If we're in a difficult situation, or there's a crisis, naturally, you must have a reaction to then feel calm sometimes. Whereas, because of my profession, you do have to be calm at all times, even though crisis is going on in your head.

How do you feel about travelling without credit cards?

Roshni: I find the phone odder than the credit cards, because up until my mid 20s, it was normal to just take out cash and then go travelling. Monzo and Revolut didn't exist.

Puja: There's also a lot of places that don't even accept cash as a form of payment anymore, so I don't know how that's going to play out. I've not actually taken out cash in ages, because I just use Apple Pay. We're just going to have to rely on people around us being kind and willing to offer us help.

How do you feel about talking to strangers and asking for help?

Roshni: Yeah, I think we have to. It's a do or die situation.

Puja: I don't think we'd make it out of the hotel on our own.

What’s the most unusual thing that you've taken with you?

Puja: An art kit so that I can paint on long journeys. I also have a compass that one of my friends gifted me, and she's written a poem in it. I love that compass. Both me and Rosh follow the teachings of this guru in India, and there's a very holy place where you get this religious ash. We kind of use it as almost a blessing if you feel unwell or need comfort, to just improve, or to make you feel better, so I’ve brought that with me. I've brought more unusual things, and Rosh has brought the essentials.

What would you say was the top three home comforts that you'll struggle to live without?

Roshni: Home cooked food, I think that's what's going to make me home sick. I think I’ll miss my bed, you know when you come back from a holiday and see your own bed, that's the safe place.

Puja: Mums cooked Indian food - the flavours are next to none, and toiletries.

Why did you both decide to undertake this challenge with each other?

Roshni: We basically spent all our childhood together. We lived a street away and over the years, because as you do as adults, you kind of grow apart, you don't see each other as much and you don't do the same things you used to. This was an opportunity to spend a bit more time together before life goes on. Also, I don't think I could do it with anyone else, she's quite a mellow girl.

Puja: As Rosh said, we've grown up together, we played together, we fought together. I think when you go through university, and you start getting married, you just have a lot less time for each other than you used to. Rosh is someone you can spend the whole day with and just have so much fun. She is one of the only people in my life that I could live with 24/7 and spend eight weeks with. She's just such a caring person. If you don't feel good, she will do everything that she can do in her power to make you feel better, even if it means disadvantaging herself. Who wouldn't want to travel with someone like that?

What do your families make of you two doing this trip together?

Roshni: My mom was disappointed when she found out we got in because there was no contact for us, but as the weeks have gone on, I think they have started to realise it’s something that we both probably just need to do. We have both wanted to travel, and we've both been talking about travelling, not with each other, but it's always been a topic of conversation. Neither one of us have really lived outside of home growing up.

Puja: I think my mom was initially upset that I am going for such a long time and she won't be able to speak to me. She'd be okay if I went away and there was contact, but I think the fact there's no contact, she was a bit concerned. But we've reassured her and towards the end, she was just like, you're so lucky to be in this once in a lifetime opportunity and you just have to make the most of it.

If there's one thing that you hope this race will change about you or your relationship together, what do you think it will be?

Puja: I think it will test it and probably make it stronger than it already is, because we're living in a different capacity than we have at home. We have slightly different things that we might want to change about ourselves, so I'll just say what I feel for myself. I think living in London and having a job, you kind of live your life in fast forward, and then before you know it, you're 50 years old. Your whole life has just gone by without you actually being present and enjoying the moments that you have in each decade of your life. I feel like my life has just been on fast forward now since university so I just want to be able to do this process and live more in the present and enjoy the moments that I have.

Roshni: I panic a lot. If something's not going the way I want it to it is just instant panic. So, even now, if something happened, or if a crisis happened, I would need to have a moment to freak out before I could do anything. I just want to develop that, to start thinking about things a bit calmly and not having to need this outlet or panic before doing anything. I think that's the biggest thing. Also, I'm very used to being in a comfort zone. I'll put myself out there, but it will still be within my sort of abilities, or what I think I'm able of doing, whereas this is out of my control.

What other skills do you think that you'll be able to bring to the race?

Puja: If there was a chance to bake or make cakes, Rosh would ace that and we could make loads of money.

So, what would you say would be the most surprising thing that viewers will learn about you?

Puja: I feel like we’ll have to tell you that once we've learned it about ourselves.

Are there any annoying habits either of you have that the other may struggle with while you're travelling?

Puja: Rosh is super clean. She's very hygienic and outside bags shouldn't go on the bed. Everyone has, their thing and it’s fairly easy to live with, but I'm someone that will come home and throw my clothes on the bed and put my bag on the bed, so I'm actively trying to be careful.

Roshni: I feel like Puja is very set, if she comes up with decision, she will carry on doing it.

Puja: Sometimes I get fixated on a certain idea or a certain thing, without having appropriately considered the alternatives and Rosh is quite good at suggesting alternative options that actually make more sense.

What are you both hoping to get out of this?

Puja: I think there's multiple elements. One is just participating in a challenge. We can travel, but we've never needed to travel with a specific agenda to get to the destination first. Being able to accomplish that and get to the end, I think is going to be a massive accomplishment and proof to both of us that we can pretty much do anything we set our mind to. The other bits of it are just like what we learn from local people, from different lifestyles, different cultures, and learning more about how life can be a lot slower than what we live at home.

Roshni: Also, a sense of fulfilment. I feel like both of us have spoken about taking time off and travelling but neither one of us have ever really done it. I mean, this isn't probably what we imagined when we were talking about that, but it's something that we can finally say we've actually done.

Puja: This has been a long, long-term dream. I've been watching Race from the beginning, and it's been a dream that I've had ever since I've watched the first season. Making that dream come true is massive.

How do you feel about being in Italy and where the race may take you next?

Puja: We’re very excited about the food. I don't know anything about Palermo, but I've always wanted to come to Sicily. I can't remember which part of the boot we're in, or if we’re on the island, we honestly have no idea.

Mark and Margo

Unlikely duo Mark (66, retired architect) from London, and Margo (59, hypnotherapist) from Liverpool, have spent the last 40 years with a typically fractious in-laws' relationship. But after recently putting their differences aside in pursuit of a shared goal – caring for a loved one - they’ve developed a fondness for each other’s company.

Why did you want to take part in the series?

Mark: Because Margo asked me to, that's the reason why - it was Margo's idea! It’s always appealed to me the idea of going exotic places, meeting interesting people and going somewhere that you would never go by yourself.

Margo: Someone told me about the series, and I watched it and went, ‘that's got me written all over it’. I just love impulsive, crazy things and adventure. I said, ‘I'm going to do that’ and the first person who came to mind was Mark. It seemed like a good time in our lives. We’ve been through this experience with losing my big sister and him losing his wife. It seemed like a celebratory thing that we could do together. This was a new journey that could be exciting and like a renewal.

Have you got a strategy going into the race?

Mark: Yes, to win. To win, but to have fun and have experiences all the way through. It's all about having experiences that you wouldn't have anywhere else and making the most of it. It's very special and we feel very privileged to actually have been chosen.

Margo: We want to make the most of it, make the most of every day, and be in the moment. But we do plan to race. We've got a double strategy of a rich experience and race like hell. We’ve been given an opportunity that very few people get and we believe we can do it.

Have you picked up any tips from previous series?

Mark: To take the most direct route is perhaps the best way to go. Whether that gives you the experiences you actually want to achieve is a different thing, it’s a fine balance.

Margo: Speak to people, kindness of strangers, communicate all the time with people you meet in each place. There are new friends to be made, so give out warmth and friendliness. And ask, because someone can only say no and hopefully, they say yes. So, ask all the time, and don't hold back. We’ve been practicing quite a lot and people say no quite a lot here so we’re getting used to it.

Have you done anything to prepare for the trip?

Mark: I've done some walking, but I generally keep myself fit anyway. So, I haven't really done any preparation as such. I've looked at maps but that's not really going to help you at all.

Margo: I've been walking more steps with my dog and faster walking. I got my boots as soon as I could, and have been increasing the steps I do, marching and low jogging.

Would you say that you're both quite adventurous?

Mark: I've always enjoyed the outdoors, climbing, cycling, anything that's got a bit of an edge to it, I quite enjoy. My age doesn’t stop me doing what I want to do, I’m 66 now, but that's not going to stop me. I went bouldering with my son a couple of weeks ago.

Margo: There isn’t a limit on what we’d have a go at. We’re going to live as dangerously as they'll allow us.

Have you ever backpacked or done anything like this before?

Mark: Yes, we both have. We both interrailed when we were younger. I went climbing up in the Alps a couple of times. This year I did part of the Camino. But there is a big gap from when I was in my 20s and when I met Julia, until after Julia died. After she died, I started taking it up again. It's something I enjoy.

Margo: Julia didn't like to backpack; it wasn’t for her, she liked luxury. I backpacked a lot. I did some brilliant interrailing when I was young, but I very much left that behind a long time ago. I have been on one adventure trip to Costa Rica in recent years, but I got into so much trouble and danger.

Can you tell me about the trouble and danger that you got into in Costa Rica?

Margo: Someone tried to mug me at knife point. I was told not to go out after nine o'clock and I was out at 10 o'clock, so I did what I was told not to do. It was not Costa Rica's fault; I was warned about that. But also, I was just doing every adventurous thing I could on the trip. I didn't take a rucksack, I took a wheelie suitcase, because I didn't even think.

How competitive are you both? Are you in this to win this?

Mark: We are in it to win it, but enjoyment is also a very key part of the whole experience.

Margo: I'm not competitive, but I'm embodying the spirit of competitiveness. I'm hypnotising myself to be that way. We're in the zone, blinkers on. I’m programming myself to focus on keeping things ordered, keeping things in control. Usually, I would say let's just float around, but the games are on, aren’t they?

What would you say your strengths and weaknesses are?

Mark: I'm quite good in terms of the urban environments. I’m good at remembering routes, so if I walk somewhere, I can walk back, and I can remember the route. Margo is very good with people and interacting with people.

Margo: If someone's giving us instructions, I will do the intro chat and then will say can you tell my friend here how we get there. As soon as they start the instructions, my brain will just shut down, so it'll be like a double act. Weaknesses, I like to eat lots of food, and I think the budget's limited. I’m also messy and forgetful.

Mark: I think forgetfulness is a big thing for both of us, leaving something behind, like leaving Margo behind - that does worry me. We left the hotel yesterday and I left my book in the hotel.

So, Margo, if you're going to be talking to strangers, will you have the budget, or will you split it?

Margo: It’ll be between us. Mark will be more sensible than me with the budget. We’ve accepted we’ll be eating some gruel along the way, and we've got Tupperware containers to make overnight oats with water.

What are you imagining your biggest challenges might be during the trip? Lack of sleep, hunger, comfort?

Margo: Hunger for me.

Mark: For me, I think it's going to be lack of sleep.

Margo: I think we can both be very quiet sometimes, and I think after the long days, we will be quiet. One thing about Mark is that he has a negative view of himself and how he comes across, and he doesn't see that. I wasn't aware of that before I started this process, but already I've seen that's not him - you're not like that, you are actually good fun. You communicate well with people; you get on with people and people like you. You engage with them.

Mark: I don’t see myself like that, but over the next two months, I'm hoping that I can explore myself and come to terms with myself better.

Margo: I'm not intending to be any quieter, but I will try on buses. I've been practicing talking more quietly, because I've always had a loud voice, and it can be quite booming or quite jarring. We're going to be on transport or in hostels so, I think culturally adapting the vocal levels. I’m not going to dim the light but dim my volume.

Would you say that you cope well during a crisis, are you calm under pressure?

Mark: No, not really. I can flap around a little bit.

Margo: I think I am good at keeping calm. When my sister was ill, I really saw that in very extreme circumstances I could be very calm and levelheaded. I can get irritated, but I'm also quite excitable.

How do you feel about travelling without a mobile phone or credit cards?

Mark: Brilliant. At our age mobile phones is not a crux like it is for the younger generation. I can spend the whole day not using my phone, so it's not a problem. We’re from a generation that when we used to go on holiday, we just took a map with us. We didn't have Google to say turn left and right. You had to make your own choice and your own decisions. I'm also very much a cash person, I like cash.

Margo: I use my mobile phone lots and all the time, but I think it's an amazing opportunity. I was one of the last ones amongst my friends to get a mobile phone, but I took to it like a duck to water.

What's the most unusual thing you've bought with you?

Mark: An umbrella. My friend has also crocheted some worms. They're little springy worms, and I have one, Margo has one and my son who has gone to Japan for a year has one. We've got one each, so they all connect us.

Margo: I don’t know if it’s unusual, but I bought a sequin skirt.

What are the three home comforts that you're going to struggle to live without?

Mark: Cycling, playing football on a Friday evening with my mates, and of course my son and cats!

Margo: I'm going to miss my dog Bailey, my family, especially the lovely Ed, and my mum, who is 95 and my partner is mischief.

Have you brought anything with you of Julia’s?

Mark: I’ve got Julia's celebration of life with me as well. I take that everywhere with me.

Margo: I’ve brought a cashmere hoodie she gave me and so that will be a cosy luxury reminding me of her. I will also have her voice in my head constantly laughing at how ridiculous this caper is.

What's the one reason you've chosen to undertake this challenge together?

Mark: It’s a continuation of journeys of caring for Julia. It’s the next step. Margo would come for four or five days and would sit with Julia all day in hospital, which was something I couldn't do - I could not sit down. She comforted Julia. I would do all the practical things of taking the blood transfusions, all the appointments, doing the medication, and making sure that she was looked after. That brought us together and this is just a continuation of that. We became friends and realised that we could work together.

Margo: It was a journey, and there were checkpoints on that journey, but they were never good. It was very hard and difficult times, but this is a continuation, for the adventure and to see where it goes really. We developed respect for each other; I think we hadn't really paid attention to the good points about each other before that.

Mark: Julia wanted us to continue a friendship. It was one of her last dying wishes.

Margo: Julia had a great intuition about things, and I think she knew we would need each other. I think this is a way of becoming true family, because we haven't got Julia to glue us together anymore.

Mark: Margo is becoming more like a sister now to me.

What do your friends and family make of you doing this trip together?

Margo: The lovely Ed, my partner, he's like, ‘she's off on something again!’ The thing is that he loves travelling but not on a budget. My children are really proud. I think they all have a sneaking admiration for just going doing whatever you're going to do.

If there's one thing that you hope this race will change about you as a person or your relationship, what would that be?

Mark: I think for me, it's about finding out a bit more about myself, and having more confidence in myself, my presentation and my engagement with other people.

Margo: For me, because I've had a lot of caring responsibilities with my mum and with Julia, alongside being a parent to my children, and my job, it's a chance to step off and ask who I am. I'm 60 next year and there’s a whole world out there. I want to just to experience myself and other people in different environments.

What's the most annoying habit of each other's that you're going to struggle with?

Mark: It’s definitely to do with Margo’s snoring because I have experienced being in the next room to Margo. It's a family trait, Julia used to snore and their dad snores. So, that's going to be difficult, I think.

Margo: I think the thing is that sometimes Mark will not like something, and rather than just saying it straight, he will pull a face, and I like a bit of straight talking.

What are you hoping to get out of this experience?

Mark: £20,000. And just strengthen our friendship together.

Margo: Fun, fun fun - that’s our motto.

How do you feel about being in Italy and where the race might take you?

Margo: We've got hardly any summer clothes, and we've got tonnes of thermal clothes, but I'm absolutely thrilled to be in Palermo. I think it's gorgeous.

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