Programme Information

How not to go overboard on a slow boat to California

Around The World In 80 Days

Tuesday 3 November on BBC ONE

• Programme copy
• Press pack

BBC Breakfast presenters Bill Turnbull and Louise Minchin take over the baton as BBC One's Around The World In 80 Days challenge, raising money for this year's BBC Children In Need Appeal, continues.

Here, they tell Programme Information about their travels.

Bill Turnbull

Occupation: BBC Breakfast presenter
Route: Mongolia – South Korea – Pacific crossing – LA
Days taken: 21
Most useful item: lightweight underpants

Bill Turnbull has been presenting BBC Breakfast since 2001. He began as a weekend presenter and in 2008 became one of the main weekday presenters for the programme. In 2005, he was a contestant in the third series of the BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, paired with Karen Hardy. In his spare time he looks after his chickens and, rather more hazardously, several hives of bees.

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

"I was asked! But it seemed like a brilliant idea, a great adventure, and an unusual way to raise money for BBC Children In Need."

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

"To be honest, not a lot. Once we were on board our ship crossing the Pacific, there wasn't a lot we could do. The only time I felt nervous was making sure we got to the dockside in South Korea on time."

What was the most unusual mode of transport you used?

"The one I'll remember most was the Hanjin Dallas – the enormous container ship in which we sailed across the ocean. It was 300 metres long, and all we had to look at for most of the time, in the rain and fog, was a huge pile of metal containers. After a week it became an almost surreal experience. In fact we had our very own 'Groundhog Day', when we lived the same day twice, crossing the International Date Line."

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

"I had no idea she had travelled so much in South America when she was younger, so she was used to the discomforts of this kind of journey. She's also a bit of a 'surfer gal'. And she has an enormous camera!"

How are your map-reading skills?

"Not too bad. But on our leg of the trip I didn't need them too much. All we had to do was get on trains and ships on time."

How light did you manage to travel?

"I was surprised at how little I needed to carry. I bought these amazing lightweight underpants which could be washed and dried in a couple of hours – a talking point for the entire journey. I nearly lost them on the last day of the voyage when I had them on a washing line on deck and they almost blew overboard. Tragedy narrowly averted."

Tell us about the favourite place you visited.

"It was a treat to get to Vladivostok, a place I'd always seen on the map and never dreamed I'd get to. They called it the Russian San Francisco, and it was quite picturesque, even if it did chuck it down while we were there. I'll always remember the dancing lesson we took: my first – and last – tango in Vladivostok."

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

"Apart from the magic lightweight underpants? Actually, I was quite happy to have one of my front teeth. It's an old crown I've had for nearly 30 years, and it fell out on the very first day of our trip. We had it glued back in by a very nice Mongolian dentist. I'd have been lost without it."

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

"My bed. Home cooking. The bath."

Did you learn anything from the adventure?

"Our best experiences were not so much the things that we saw as the people we met. You can meet some very interesting individuals on your travels. All you have to do is start talking to them."

How useful were Michael Palin's top tips?

"Michael was absolutely right about the pains of officialdom. Even 20 years later, the border guards haven't got any better."

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

"I did have a couple of conversations on the Trans-Siberian Express that were quite avant garde; especially the one with Kolya, who had bright orange hair, pure gold teeth and a mysterious background. A mixture of simple English and my almost non-existent Russian, fuelled by a glass or two of vodka, made for some very strange dialogue."

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

"I bought a rather fine shirt in Vladivostok for our tango lesson. It's black and shiny and appears to be made of recycled bin liners. I thought it was fetching. Louise described it as 'gobbing'. I'm sure that's a compliment."

How do you plan to raise money for BBC Children In Need?

"Louise and I have set up a website where people can contribute once they've (we hope) been inspired by the programme about our journey. I'm also blackmailing any rich people I know."

Were there any challenges with your relay handover?

"As we were arriving on a container ship after 10 days at sea, all we had to do was make sure we didn't fall overboard before we got there. A tough assignment, but we managed it!"

Louise Minchin

Occupation: BBC News Presenter
Route: Mongolia – Russia – S. Korea – Pacific crossing – LA
Days taken: 21
Learned: Doesn't need to watch the news headlines three times a day

Louise Minchin is a BBC news anchor, who regularly presents BBC Breakfast on BBC One, and the One O'Clock news, and has a regular slot on the BBC News Channel. In addition to her work as an esteemed journalist, Louise has also appeared as herself in TV dramas Spooks and Silent Witness.

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

"I was inspired to take part for two reasons: firstly, to raise money for BBC Children In Need. I have two little girls, and in these difficult times I think it is especially important to raise money for those who aren't perhaps as lucky as my children.

"Secondly I love travelling. When I was at St Andrews University I spent a year living and working in South America, and had the opportunity to do a lot of travelling through Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador. I thought as a working mum I would never be able to travel like that again."

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

"We were under quite a lot of pressure as it was crucial that we caught our container ship from Busan in South Korea to Long Beach California. If we missed it we would jeopardise the whole 80 days."

What was the most unusual mode of transport you used?

"The most unusual was probably a mini-bus that Bill called the 'Love-Bus'. It was a normal mini-bus but customised by its Russian owner, with carpets floor to ceiling, tassled velvet curtains, blacked out windows and a DVD player playing old recordings of a Russian MTV."

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

"He has a very naughty sense of humour and is fantastic at ping-pong."

Does Bill have any annoying habit you want to share with us?

"It doesn't annoy me, but it makes me laugh. He is absolutely brilliant at procrastinating, and will do anything to put off doing the thing he really needs to do, but doesn't really want to."

What were your best and worst moments of the trip?

"My best moment was when I saw land for the first time in 10 days. We saw nothing but sea, sky and containers as we sailed over the Pacific. When I walked up into the bridge on the last day, opened the door and saw the Californian coast I was completely thrown, it sent shivers down my spine.

"The worst moment was the abandon ship drill on the container ship. All 28 of us were stuffed into the life-boat which looked like a bath toy. They then went through what we would do to survive and it absolutely terrified me."

How are your map-reading skills?

"Pretty average, but luckily we didn't need them very often!"

How light did you manage to travel?

"I managed to travel with just one piece of luggage (plus hand-luggage), and became an expert at managing to stuff everything in. We had so many bags of filming kit that I soon realised no one would notice if I added an extra bag with pillows."

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

"After we left Russia, my mobile phone stopped working. I couldn't get emails or texts or phone-calls and had no access to the internet. It was really hard being out of touch with family and with no way of finding out the news headlines."

Did you learn anything from the adventure?

"Yes, I learnt that I don't need at least half the things I have, I don't need to be constantly on the phone, and I don't need to watch the news headlines three times a day."

How useful were Michael Palin's top tips?

"When I was banished to fourth class on the ferry from Vladivostock to South Korea, and Bill was living it up in first class, I remembered Michael said: "make friends, take time to talk to the local people", and I made some great friends on that ferry."

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

"Bill lost his tooth on the first day and I got a fit of giggles in the Mongolian dentist. He had forgotten his glasses and I had to read the health questions to him, which included: Are you pregnant? Do you have any concerns about your breath? I couldn't believe I was asking Breakfast's Bill Turnbull such embarrassing questions!"

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

"I bought a pair of Russian dolls, or Matrioshkas, in Vladivostock. One of them is very traditional but the other has all of Russia's political leaders, starting with Medvedev and going back through Putin, Gorbachov and all the way back to Stalin."

How do you plan to raise money for BBC Children In Need?

"Many of my friends and family have already sponsored me during my travels.

"I am also planning to auction the paintings that I did during our Pacific crossing. I was rubbish at art at school, but I had always wanted to try. So, I did a crash course in oils before I left, and I am really pleased with the paintings and now wish I hadn't promised to sell them... Even Bill says they are good!"

Were there any challenges with your relay handover?

"Yes handover was a little tricky. We arrived at Long Beach at about midnight, which was on time to hand over to Myleene and John, and as we came in to the port we could see them on the dockside waving to us. But we had to spend two hours getting through customs. By the time we finally got out they were about to be thrown out of the docks, so we only had minutes to spare."