Beatrice McKenzie

A gap year with a competitive twist or a recipe for disaster? Race Across the World returns to our screens for the fourth time, fuelled with chaotic parings, exotic landscapes and an unrelenting passion for travel.

No phones, no internet and strictly no flights. Sounds like the modern traveller’s worst nightmare, doesn’t it? This is the premise of BBC One’s reality TV show with a twist, Race Across the World, which follows five pairs as they backpack across national borders, competing against each other to reach the final checkpoint and win a cash prize.

A GAP YEAR WITHOUT THE FREEDOM

Contestants are allowed only the equivalent of the airfare to the destination as their budget for the two-month trip, with the option to work throughout their journey to make up their limited funds. With only a physical map as an aid for navigation, contestants must rely on the kindness of strangers to help direct them.

This is often complicated by language barriers, especially when the show moves out of the comfort zone of Europe. However, the humanity of strangers stands out as capable of cutting across these boundaries with many guiding contestants to public transport, using their local knowledge or even offering their homes for the night.

“The show is a real test of traditional resilience”

However, the main challenge of the competition lies with the no-fly rule, which prohibits contestants from conveniently hopping on a plane and racing to their destination. Travellers must use public transport, sleeper trains, overnight buses, and boats to reach the final checkpoint. With contestants forced to slow down their travel, rely on the kindness of strangers, and forego all technology, the show is a real test of traditional resilience.

TRAVELLING VICARIOUSLY

Since it first aired in 2019, the competitive reality/travel show has captivated viewers. The show even moved from its original home on BBC Two to being aired on BBC One in 2020.

The show’s second season, which aired in 2020, was a comfort during the COVID-19 pandemic when so many of us desperately wished to travel. Viewers could live vicariously through the contestants as they raced from Mexico City to Argentina, squabbling over money, speaking broken Spanish, and getting lost in the process. Wherever the destination, the show manages to ignite a desire within the audience to travel as authentically and mindfully as possible.

BACK FOR SEASON FOUR

This season’s show sees the contestants travel throughout Southeast Asia, starting on the Japanese island of Hokkaido and finishing 50 days later on the Indonesian island of Lombok.

“This show casts authentic, relatable, and often imperfect people”

Despite the show’s unique premise and captivating landscapes, the authenticity of the cast consistently draws viewers back week after week. Race Across the World offers a refreshing alternative to typical reality TV, a genre often tarnished by fame-hunting contestants. This show casts authentic, relatable, and often imperfect people.

The latest series is no different. This time, friends Alfie and Owen, mother and daughter duo Eugenie and Isobel, brother and sister James and Betty, mother and daughter Sharon and Brydie, and husband and wife Stephen and Viv are all competing against one another to win the cash prize awaiting them in Lombok.

OVERVIEW SO FAR

The first episode was a gripping start to series four, with each pair strategically planning their routes, some prioritising speed over budget and others putting cultural experiences over making a head start. Mother and daughter pair Eugenie and Isobel certainly were the former, with only 68 per cent of their budget remaining after a detour to the island of Sado. Despite their questionable and costly decision-making, the pair found themselves in first place, with Alfie and Owen just minutes behind.

25-year-old Betty took the opportunity to encourage her younger brother to embrace the Japanese culture, a world away from his usual lads holiday to Magaluf, by tasting authentic Japanese sushi. This, however, resulted in a sizeable dent in the siblings’ budget after a translation mishap.

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The show begs the audience to judge every move and decision contestants make as cash-strapped travellers facing mounting pressure to reach each checkpoint in time. The irony of an audience sitting at home on the couch, rather unlikely to embark on a similar adventure themselves, certainly does not stop viewers from putting themselves in the hiking boots of the travellers on screen and criticising their every move.

RELATIONSHIPS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

Tensions began to show early on in the episode. 20-year-old Alfie and Owen chaotically flitted between cities, eventually misplacing their map.

The programme is somehow a fascinating analysis of the intricacies of familial, romantic and platonic relationships, calling on viewers to question who they could tolerate completing the competition with.

21-year-old James remarked how it was strange for him to see his sister every day outside of the show, with the competition allowing them to bond and truly get to know each other. He said, “I think seeing Betty every day is a bit strange and weird. I think we’re sort of growing into spending time with each other.”

Similar familial strains arose between Isobel and her mother, Eugenie, whose differences proved to work in their favour. Isobel took the role of meticulous planner and even a Japanese linguist.

A REFRESHING WATCH

Race Across the World stands out amongst the bleakness of much of the content that fills our screens. Its emphasis on the strength of relationships, the resilience of the human condition and the kindness of strangers reminds viewers that there is still some good left in the world – even if it means travelling the world to find it.

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Featured image courtesy of  Senad Palic on Unsplash. No changes have been made to this image. Image license found here. 

Beatrice is a recent graduate in Spanish and English Literature from the University of Leeds. She is currently working in marketing within the education sector.

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