The first series of Celebrity Race Across the World was first announced on 3 October 2019, but production was subsequently delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 27 July 2023, the BBC announced that the delayed celebrity version would air later that same year and revealed a route spanning 24 countries and over starting in Marrakech, Morocco and finishing in Tromsø, Norway.
In the same press release the BBC announced that the series would consist of 6 hour-long episodes and revealed the four pairs of competitors as weather presenter Alex Beresford and his father, Noel; former All Saints singer Melanie Blatt and her mother, Helene; McFly drummer Harry Judd and his mother, Emma and former British F4 Racing Driver Billy Monger and his sister, Bonny.
Celebrity Race Across the World had been planned for broadcast on 13 September 2023; however, the BBC announced its postponement due to the earthquakes in Marrakesh, where the show had been filmed prior to the disaster which killed over 2,500 people.
Overview The first celebrity series of Race Across the World was a race between Marrakech, Morocco and Tromsø, Norway spanning 24 countries and over .
The race had five checkpoints with enforced rest periods, with contestants only finding out the next destination on departure from a checkpoint. Teams were given a budget of £1947 per person – the equivalent air fare for travelling the race route. Contestants were not permitted to subsidise their budgets, but short-term opportunities allowed them to work for money or bed and board. The contestants were not allowed access to telephones or the internet, but were provided with a map, travel guide and GPS tracker.
Contestants
Name Relationship Occupation Age Travel essentials Ref. Alex BeresfordFather and son Weather presenter, broadcaster 42 Grooming equipment (including cut-throat razor) Noel Beresford Retired engineer 67 Puzzle books Melanie BlattMother and daughter Singer 48 Wet wipes and cigarettes Helene Blatt Retired business owner 71 Swiss Army knife and compass Harry JuddMother and son Musician 37 Drum sticks and letters from family Emma Judd Retired nurse 63 Tapestry kit and family gifts Billy MongerSiblings Racing driver, broadcaster 24 Unknown Bonny Monger Make-up artist 23 Fake tan
Results summary Colour key: – Team withdrawn – Series winners
TeamsPosition (by leg)123456Alex & Noel3rd4th2nd2nd2ndWinnersHarry & Emma4th1st1st1st4th2nd Melanie & Helene1st2nd4th4th3rd3rdBilly & Bonny2nd3rd3rd2nd1stDNF
Route The checkpoints in the first celebrity series were: Leg From To1Jemaa el-FnaaMarrakesh, MoroccoQuinta De La RosaPinhão, Portugal2Quinta De La RosaPinhão, PortugalHotel GenoveseBonifacio, Corsica, France3Hotel GenoveseBonifacio, Corsica, FranceBackstage Hotel Zermatt, Switzerland4Backstage Hotel Zermatt, SwitzerlandIsa Begov Hamam i HotelSarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina5Isa Begov Hamam i HotelSarajevo, Bosnia and HerzegovinaHotel AdlonBerlin, Germany6Hotel AdlonBerlin, GermanyFjellheisen observation deckTromsø, Norway
Race summary Mode of transportation Rail Ship Bus/coach Taxi Road vehicle Self-drive vehicle (paid) RVActivity Working for money and/or bed and board Excursion that cost time and/or money
Leg 1: Marrakesh, Morocco → Pinhão, Portugal
Having checked in at Medersa Ben Yousseff, the race started in earnest at 2 pm from Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakesh, Morocco with the first leg finishing north at Quinta De La Rosa, outside the town of Pinhão, in the heart of Portugal's Douro Valley.
To reach Europe all the teams had to first plan their way to the port city of Tangier and then cross the Strait of Gibraltar. Whilst the other teams walked to Bab Doukkala bus station, Melanie and Helene got off to a head start by taking a taxi and catching the first bus to Tangier, a journey of almost nine hours.
Billy and Bonny, wanting to experience something of North Africa decided to travel to Fez by bus to work in the Sidi Moussa tannery. Harry and Emma also elected to experience local culture and selected a homestay with a Jebala family, working at their apiary in the city of Chefchaouen in the Rif mountains in exchange for free food and lodgings.
With differing opinions on the best strategy, Alex and Noel were the last to leave Marrakesh having spent the first day exploring the city and eventually took an overnight bus to Tangier some seven hours behind Melanie and Helene. They reached Tangier and took the first ferry across to Algeciras in Andalusia, Spain only to discover they had caught up with Melanie and Helene who were also on the same sailing.
One by one all the teams made landfall in Spain and all decided to travel onward to Seville. Whilst most of the teams took the bus, Melanie once again opted to splash out on a taxi having failed to secure a bus. She and Helene then took a train to Lisbon where they worked a shift in a Fado bar before taking another train to Porto. Harry and Emma later followed in their footsteps taking the same route. From Seville, the other two teams struck out for Madrid. On arrival in the Spanish capital, Alex and Noel immediately headed to Salamanca by bus and found that the onward bus through the Serra de Estrela mountains and into Viseu the next day was coming from Madrid; a bus on which Billy and Bonny were already on board. In Viseu, Bonny tried unsuccessfully to make contact with an old friend, in the meantime, confused by the one hour time difference between Spain and Portugal, Alex and Noel forwent the first available bus under the impression it had already departed and waited two hours for the next service. Once again the two teams found themselves on the same bus, this time to Pinhão. In an effort to beat Alex and Noel to the checkpoint, Billy and Bonny alighted the bus short of Viseu and took a taxi to the town, only to find the other pair already heading to the checkpoint, but a mistake by Alex and Noel allowed Billy and Bonny to just pip them to the post.
Melanie and Helene travelled from Porto to Pinhão by train, but Harry and Emma took a cab as they stood to gain two hours by not waiting for the next service. Upon arrival they discovered they were the last team to check in, some 4 hours behind the race leaders, Melanie and Helene.
OrderTeamsRouteHours behind leadersMoney left1Melanie & HeleneMarrakech → Tangier → Algeciras → Seville → Lisbon → Porto → Pinhão valign="top" 85%2Billy & BonnyMarrakech → Fez → Tangier → Algeciras → Seville → Madrid → Viseu → Pinhão 59 minutes 86%3Alex & NoelMarrakech → Tangier → Algeciras → Seville → Madrid → Salamanca → Viseu → Pinhão 61 minutes 82%4Harry & EmmaMarrakech → Chefchaouen → Tangier → Algeciras → Seville → Lisbon → Porto → Pinhão 4 hours 81%
Leg 2: Pinhão, Portugal → Bonifacio, Corsica
The race continued on day 6 from Pinhão in Portugal's Douro Valley to the coastal town of Bonifacio, over east on the southern tip of the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean.
Melanie and Helene were the first to leave, at 6.15am. They hitched a lift to the bus station with the intent of getting the first bus to Vila Real but having missed the morning service they decided not to wait and once again opted for a taxi. From there they took a bus to Donostia-San Sebastian in the Basque Country close to the border with France where they found work on a sheep farm during lambing season.
The other three teams all headed west to Porto by train, where Harry and Emma found the time to take in the sights of Porto Cathedral. They then travelled directly to Madrid as did Billy and Bonny, albeit on different bus services; however, Alex and Noel detoured to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia first for a work opportunity in a seafood restaurant. From Madrid, Harry and Emma headed straight to Barcelona via the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed train in an attempt to make up some time, whilst Billy and Bonny detoured to Tarragona via train where they accompanied a squid fisherman in an effort to replenish their funds subject to the size of their catch.
Still in the Basque country, Melanie and Helene crossed the border into France at Hendaye from where they took multiple trains to reach the ferry port at Toulon. En route they met some fellow brits who made a contribution to their race funds.
Having failed to catch any squid and therefore with no extra funds, Billy and Bonny decided on economy over speed and took a bus from Barcelona to Marseille, instead of the much quicker but much costlier train which Harry and Emma had utilised after taking in the city's Gaudi buildings including the Sagrada Familia. Alex and Noel also found themselves taking the bus from Barcelona to Marseille as all train services were fully booked for two days by the time of their arrival at Barcelona Sants railway station. The other three teams caught the same overnight ferry crossing from Toulon to Ajaccio on Corsica and once on board tried to secure lifts to Bonifacio from fellow passengers, with only Billy and Bonny unsuccessful, forcing them to hitch multiple lifts.
Whilst three teams reached the second checkpoint on day 9, Alex and Noel were lagging behind by twenty-six hours.
OrderTeamsRouteHours behind leadersMoney left1Harry & EmmaPinhão → Porto → Madrid → Barcelona → Toulon → Ajaccio → Bonifacio valign="top" 63%2Melanie & HelenePinhão → Vila Real → Donostia-San Sebastian → Hendaye → Toulon → Ajaccio → Bonifacio 30 minutes 64%3Billy & BonnyPinhão → Porto → Madrid → Tarragona → Barcelona → Marseille → Toulon → Ajaccio → Bonifacio 3 hours 68%4Alex & NoelPinhão → Porto → Santiago de Compostela → Madrid → Barcelona → Marseille → Toulon → Ajaccio 26 hours 61%
Leg 3: Bonifacio, Corsica → Zermatt, Switzerland
The race continued on day 11 from the coastal town of Bonifacio on the southern tip of the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean to car-free Zermatt, high in the Swiss Alps situated to the north.
With three teams leaving on the rest day of Sunday, the lack of public transport forced Billy & Bonny and Harry & Emma to each take taxis to the port of Bastia, whilst Melanie and Helene eventually hitched a lift. With an option to either traverse through Italy or France, Harry and Emma decided on the former, whilst Melanie and Helene opted for the latter due to their fluency in the language and a friend in Nice who might prove useful. Billy and Bonny also opted for France and found themselves on the same ferry service to Nice on the Côte d'Azur as Melanie and Helene.
On arrival in Livorno, Harry and Emma decided to press on to Tuscany where they had lined up a job opportunity in a Carrara marble sculpting studio. After what seemed a fruitless search, Helene successfully located her friend's apartment and she and Melanie were offered shelter for the night. The next day they spent some time with her and visited Castle Hill to witness the cannon being fired at noon. Whilst there, mother and daughter reflected on the period of their lives when they moved to France for Melanie's Scoliosis treatment.
After departing Bonifacio a day later than the other three teams, Alex and Noel also opted for a cab to Bastia to make up time and took the first ferry available to the European mainland, which made port in Livorno. From there they headed by train to Riomaggiore, one of the Cinque Terre where they worked in a vineyard for bed and board.