The secrets behind BBC Race Across the World from hidden hotels to unseen teammates

Betty crying on Race Across the World
-Credit: (Image: BBC Pictures)


Imagine being left in an unknown country with no phone or flights - and having to traverse the globe on a shoestring budget. It's an intimidating prospect, and it makes for compelling viewing as fans of BBC's Race Across the World, who can't get enough of the concept, can attest.

Technology has been confiscated, flights are prohibited and funds are limited, meaning the teams are dependent on the most affordable forms of transport possible with directions from locals who may not speak their language. The popular BBC One reality programme is now in its fourth series, with five pairs of competitors racing across countries including Japan and South Korea to be the first to reach Lombok in Indonesia and secure the £20,000 cash prize.

Mother and daughter team Sharon, 52, and Brydie, 25, were eliminated in episode four leaving four teams - Stephen and his wife Viv, Alfie and best friend Owen, siblings Betty and James and mother and daughter Eugenie and Isabel - still vying for the win. Ahead of the grand finale, the Mirror revealed some behind-the-scenes secrets from the show to pique your interest.

READ MORE: A Welsh rail line will be closed for 12 days due to engineering works

READ NEXT: Locals fume as beauty spot car park becomes 'free campsite' with 95 campervans parked

Route recce

The show's producers test out the routes first to identify any potential problems - and to find out if the contestants can survive on their tight budgets. According to the Guardian, two crew members carry out the recce of the route, with only one in the know about what lies ahead - leaving the other to experience the race like a contestant. "The other person has no idea and that person is in charge of making the decisions," said series producer Lucy Curtis.

Five teams in black pose on a lawn
Five teams are competing in this series of Race Across the World -Credit:BBC/Studio Lambert/Pete Dadds

Line producer Maria Kennedy explained more to the Radio Times. "You get some really brave people out on the road for a couple of months," she said. "[They tell us:] 'Here are going to be the sticking points. This is quite tricky. This bit is amazing'. They do it all on a budget as well so they're not like going out and spending loads of money and having a great jolly. They're literally looking at the budget and seeing if it's possible to get by on less than 50 quid a day."

The groups of two contestants are each accompanied by two members of the production crew during filming. "They had to do the same journey as them, sleeping alongside them on the bus," executive producer Mark Saben told the BBC. "So they were almost like a family, with its ups and downs. And while we had done recces, the teams found bits of the world which were totally surprising."

Visas and vaccines for "every conceivable country" are sorted in advance, Mark told Broadcast, with "every likely bus and train option, cost and connection" researched. "It's all very well doing it theoretically, looking at timetables and things," he said. "But until someone does it for real, you don't know where the difficulties might lie. We drew up protocols that set rules for how the teams could hitchhike, travel at night and cross borders safely."

No help allowed

Betty in beige with James in a blue top and black shorts
Betty & James -Credit:Studio Lambert

While each duo has production crew, a local fixer and a security adviser in tow, their behind the scenes team mates maintain enough distance to "make the trip feel authentic". The show's executive producer Mark Saben told BBC News a medical support vehicle will also travel an hour or so behind the teams in some countries. But while safety is paramount on the road, no route guidance can be given.

"How they made their journey was up to them," Mark told Broadcast. "This meant as a production we had to react to their decisions, however nonsensical. It was a nightmare for production management as the competing contributors decided how and where to go. You cannot underestimate how challenging the journey could be at times."

In the second series of the show, one team didn't realise they had crossed a time zone and nearly missed a crucial transport connection. Another nearly ended up on a six-hour detour when they took the wrong bus in southern Mexico. All the production crew could do was look on in despair.

Total isolation

Alfie and Owen study a map, in t-shirts and backpacks
Owen & Alfie -Credit:Studio Lambert Ltd

Current series contestant Alfie, 20, took to social media to reveal the teams were kept in "total isolation" during the race. "I keep telling people we knew nothing about the Gaza attacks," he said. "I managed to catch the football scores on billboards but other than that, it's total silence."

Line producer Maria Kennedy said ensuring the teams stayed in the race "bubble" was paramount. "If there was a significant issue at home, we might allow them to speak to a nominated person but we really try to keep them in the bubble as much as possible," she said.

Secret hotels

The teams stay at secret hotels at each checkpoint for up to two days. "It does change depending on finishing times to make sure nobody leaves at an utterly ridiculous time - mainly for safety," said current contestant Alfie, 20.

Real jobs

Race Across The World contestants Eugenie and Isabel in a blue t-shirt and a black t-shirt
Eugenie & Isabel -Credit:Studio Lambert Ltd

A pamphlet of job adverts is created by show bosses but the jobs on them are real. "We don't go to any of those places and say: 'For the purposes of the show, can you provide this kind of service?'" BBC commissioner Michael Jochnowitz told the Radio Times. "Those are real jobs, real places, real money or accommodation and things like that so again, because they don't have access to a phone or the internet, we basically just give them a guide of potential opportunities in the area."

"We use [it] as a rule of thumb, it's like what you'd find on a board in a hostel," said executive producer Mark. "We want [it] to feel absolutely as authentic as it possibly can be."

Food rule

Teams are often seen struggling to eat enough food on tight budgets but they are not given any help off camera. Series two winner Emon Choudhury told the Express he and his nephew teammate Jamiul would often ask strangers for food and water. "I lost over a stone, a stone and a half and the same with my nephew, he lost quite a bit as well," he said. "The food was an issue. You always think on these TV shows, you get a sandwich off-camera or water or a little snack here or there but no, it wasn't like that."

Series one winners Tony and Elaine Teasdale told the Telegraph that during one leg they "wouldn't eat unless somebody fed us or we found super-cheap street food". "We'd buy little packs of rice for 20p each, then eat those for three meals a day," said Elaine. "I went down a dress size from 14 to 12." Elaine revealed contestants were permitted to take chlorine tablets with them, meaning they didn't have to buy bottled water.