Programme Information

By train, horse and camel

Around The World In 80 Days

Tuesday 27 October on BBC ONE

• Programme copy
• Press pack

TV presenters Julia Bradbury and Matt Baker are the latest celebrities to set off on a race against the clock as part of BBC One's Around The World In 80 Days challenge. They are the third of six pairs of celebrities embarking on an ambitious global relay, re-enacting the epic odysseys of Phileas Fogg and Michael Palin, and raising money for this year's BBC Children In Need Appeal.

Here, the pair tell Programme Information about their journey, which took them from Kazakhstan to China.

JULIA BRADBURY
Occupation: TV presenter
Modes of transport: Trains, vans, buses, horses and camels
Number of days taken: 13
Invaluable item: wet wipes

Dublin-born Julia Bradbury currently presents Countryfile with her Around The World travel partner Matt Baker. Julia lives in London and loves to travel, so this was the perfect challenge for her.

What inspired you to take up the Around The World In 80 Days challenge?

"Well, as somebody who has always enjoyed challenges, this really was the ultimate race against time, for a great charity. It was irresistible."

How much pressure did you feel knowing that another team was relying on you to be on time?

"The pressure was immense throughout and I think that all the teams felt it. But we were going to do it; we were determined to complete the challenge successfully."

What was the most unusual mode of transport you used?

"We went on the wonderful Trans-Siberian railway. It is such an enigmatic and famous mode of transport. It was the most unusually exciting and dream-fulfilling mode of transport we took."

What new things did you learn about Matt on your travels?

"Well with Matt what you see is what you get. He is that friendly, that enthusiastic and that lovely. He is really easy-going and we made great travel companions. I think what is lovely is that we both have lots of energy; we are both absolutely determined to get the job done; and we both like a bit of a laugh. It's nice to find that compatibility with someone, where you know that you want the same thing. We both really just wanted to get the challenge done."

Does Matt have any annoying habits you want to share with us?

"No he doesn't actually, in fact, quite the opposite. We did have to share a sleeper cabin on the train and he is an incredibly quiet sleeper – he doesn't snore – no noises – so I have no complaints. His wife, Nicola, has trained him well!"

What were your best and worst moments of the trip?

"So many great moments – too many to list. I think one of the best moments was when we hit Mongolia there was a massive sense of excitement. I didn't particularly enjoy horse riding across Mongolia on the 'mad demon dwarf horses' as I called them, but Matt loved them. For me, the views were absolutely breathtaking, it is an incredible landscape. We also went swimming in Lake Baikal in Russia. It is the deepest lake in the world and is thought to have healing properties. It was freezing cold, but we took a dip with the Russian family who were there for therapeutic reasons – they were using it as an elixir. We spent some time with them and they shared their vodka and their sandwiches with us.

"The worst thing was just the general fatigue and tiredness of continually being on the move. It was hard to keep on the move when your body needs some rest. We had lots of interesting toilet moments – outdoor in the Mongolian steppe was one of the most disgusting moments!"

How are your map-reading skills?

"My map-reading skills are fairly good. From my walking I'm good at co-ordinates, so map-reading skills are good. However, my general sense of direction is appalling."

How "light" did you manage to travel?

For me, incredibly light – it was a smaller-than-average bag for me; I was quite impressed by my light packing. However, my bag was by far the heaviest!"

Tell us about the favourite place you visited.

"Mongolia. The Mongolian people were warm, interesting and friendly. And the Mongolian landscape is breathtaking."

What item was most valuable to you on your leg of the journey and why?

"Wet wipes – without doubt. Wet wipes were used for everything. There were days when we didn't shower and hand-washing facilities were not always available. We got through shed loads of wet wipes!"

What home comforts did you most miss on your journey and why?

"A comfortable pillow. I did borrow a pillow from one of the airlines which was a God-send. It was great for sleeping, when you are travelling a lot. I really should have taken a nice pillow."

Did you learn anything from the adventure?

"We are incredibly lucky in the UK. We rely heavily on, and take for granted, a lot of resources which are not available all over the world; including our culture, social structure, our healthcare, our transport system – we are just really lucky."

How useful were Michael Palin's top tips?

"Well, he is a sage traveller so how could they not be useful? It was like Uncle Michael reading to you. He was right – he said things like: 'Don't get annoyed and lose patience at customs,' and: 'Time takes on a different meaning when you are travelling,' and it did. His sage wise facts were very useful."

Did you have any "Monty Python-esque" incidents you wish to share?

"Oh yeah we did, we had a very Monty Python-esque incident where Matt decided it would be great to have a go as a Mongolian champion wrestler! Mongolian wrestling is a very altruistic art – it's not just about size, strength and power; it's also about mind control. They take it very seriously; it's not like wrestling for show, it really is a demonstration of strength on every level: mind, body and soul. And Matt thought, in a moment of bravado, that it would be a really good idea and he thought he had a chance to take on a Mongolian wrestler. He got a nose bleed in the first three minutes. So the Monty Python moment was Matt shouting: 'I'll be ok, I'll be ok with toilet roll shoved up both nostrils!'"

What items did you pick up for auction on your travels?

"We picked up a fantastic Mongolian cashmere rug and a wonderful wrestling hat. In Russia, we found a wonderful toy pecking chicken. Great things which I hope will auction well."

Were there any challenges with your relay handover?

"Our challenge was to meet Bill Turnbull and Louise Minchin in China, but we had to change our meeting point. We ended up meeting in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, near a massive, silver-coloured statue of Genghis Khan. It is a very important emblem of Mongolia. It really was a challenge re-routing and re-jigging everything."

MATT BAKER
Occupation: TV presenter
Modes of transport: Trains, vans, buses, horses and camels
Number of days taken: 13
Most missed: A toilet

Seven and a half years on Blue Peter established Matt Baker as one of the best-loved presenters in the show's history, winning him two Bafta Awards for Best Children's Presenter and a Royal Television Society Award. Matt was born in Durham where he grew up in the Dales on his family's sheep farm. His love of the countryside and animals have made him the natural choice for fronting shows such as Animal Rescue, One Man And His Dog and Countryfile, which he presents with his Around The World In 80 Days travel partner, Julia Bradbury.

What inspired you to take up the Around The World In 80 Days challenge?

"As far as epic journeys are concerned, circumnavigating the globe has to be the biggest and being part of it and having the opportunity to explore new countries and their cultures was something I couldn't resist. The icing on the cake was that we could raise money for Children In Need."

How much pressure did you feel knowing that another team were relying on you to be on time?

"Because it was structured like a relay, there was pressure on you to make sure your leg was as quick and efficient as possible so you didn't let the whole team down. We travelled through some fascinating places but we couldn't stay too long as we had to be constantly on the move to meet ever-changing deadlines, due to incidents like not being allowed into Russia with all our camera equipment."

What was the most unusual mode of transport you used?

"A camel and a Mongolian horse!"

What new things did you learn about Julia on your travels?

"I learnt that she takes a lot of photographs! It confirmed that she is very decisive which, when you haven't got a lot of time to make decisions, is really handy."

What were your best and worst moments of the trip?

"My worst moment was when we'd finished all the travelling for our leg and we could fly for the first time but the flight was severely delayed. The best part was right at the start when we picked up the bag from Nick and Saira and burst out of the market in Kazakhstan. It was like bursting out the blocks in the 100 metres at the Olympics!"

How are your map-reading skills?

"Not too bad! Mind you, relying on sat nav a lot these days it was really refreshing to use good old maps that you can hold fold and scribble on."

How "light" did you manage to travel?

"To be honest, we all seemed to have a similar amount of stuff. It's surprising, though, how bulky your bag gets when you start putting in cameras and cables, shoes, waterproofs etc."

Tell us about the favourite place you visited.

"My favourite place was Mongolia, where we stayed in a Ger [traditional house] with a nomadic tribe and we rode their horses. One evening, I went for a walk up past their cattle and looked out, it was just as you would imagine Outer Mongolia to be, a hot breeze and endless shrubby mountainous hills that disappeared into the horizon."

What item was most valuable to you on your leg of the journey?

"A pair of binoculars and earplugs!"

What home comforts did you most miss on your journey and why?

"A toilet! I'm normally quite happy to go to the loo anywhere but we came across some offensive holes that could loosely be called toilets!"

Did you learn anything from the adventure?

"In our case, how accessible the world actually is by land and how much of it you can cover in a short amount of time if you just keep going."

How useful were Michael Palin's top tips?

"He said: 'Never argue with a guy with a rubber stamp,' and that certainly stood us in good stead at the Russian border!"

Did you have any "Monty python-esque" incidents you wish to share?

"I certainly had a Monty Python-esque walk when I wore my Mongolian wrestling pants!"

What items did you pick up for auction on your travels?

"Wrestling hat, rug, wooden trinkets from a market and a Kazakhstani chocolate selection box."

Were there any challenges with your relay handover?

"We were supposed to meet Bill [Turnbull] and Louise [Minchin] in China but, in the end, they had to come and meet us at a big statue of Genghis Khan in Mongolia."