Race Across The World 2026

[LindorDoubleChoc]

Hooray!

This is back for another series, starting Thursday.

I just googled very quickly and they set off from Sicily and end the race in northern Mongolia - sounds interesting.

I don't know anything else about it at this point, but thought that we should have a thread ready and waiting.

Travelling with Harrison must be like going on holiday with Martin Lewis!

Can't wait to see Cappadocia, that is the one place in the world I am desperate to visit.

Margo and her sports bra comment made me and DH smile. My grandma (think Thora Hird) announced on our wedding day that she was so excited for the day that she had put her 'best bra on'! It still makes us chuckle.

Oh ,well, I shall change my mind then. I think he just seems overly competitive , potentially sulky. Joe is more laid back. But , good for them wanting to do this and not Love Island!

I think that's a good point. It would be a first, swapping partners part way through 😁

Right, did I muddle them? Sorry.

That's so funny! 😊

Absolutely! Something genuinely positive and challenging.

I hate the elimination round. And if the producers had been reading these threads, they would have dropped it as no-one seems to like it. Maybe it's because there's too many stories to follow but having one fewer couple at the start risks too few ending in case of drop outs. Four couples is the sweet spot for the viewers' attention span or something?

It was interesting what the boys said about Liverpool being a great place to grow up mixed heritage. That was lovely.

It did make me wonder whether they ever have to edit out any racist reactions, or whether any of the contestants experience them.

I have just been in seemingly cosmopolitan Prague and was so shocked to hear a young lad (maybe 17 or 18) shout the n slur really loudly at a young woman walking in front of his group. She did actually confront them and they were proper cowards to her face but I was really so upset and deflated to witness this.

My friend when he went to China and Japan was worried about being Black and gay. He could conceal one but not the other. He got mild curiosity in Japan and some people trying to touch him but the racism in China was terrible - spitting, refusing to serve him, shouting . RATW presumably also needs to consider countries where it wouldn't be safe to send gay people.

They're my least favourites and am hoping they don't catch up.

I like it. If they didn't have it, there would only be four pairs from the start.

It makes sure there's a bit of jeopardy otherwise there could be one couple permanently at the back and giving up and dropping further behind.

It gives them all the impetus to crack on and be more level for leg 4.

Yes, I've wondered about racism and do they cut it out. I can't remember if being shown on any series but I find it unlikely none of the contestants didn't experience any.

In the Canadian series, the Black father and daughter felt that they had more trouble getting rides and help and some of the footage showed that they had to wait longer and ask more people than some of the others. That series was tricky because it relied on hitching or organising rides a great deal.

Ah,yes, I remember that. I also wonder about the sisters in China, given my friend's experience there- but one of them spoke Mandarin which must really have helped.

There’s no doubt positive and negative racism. My DB has been to India a few times and he’s treated like a king, gets free meals all over the place, doesn’t have to wait in queues, has loads of people asking for selfies with him, because he’s ginger!

It did seem to me like the brother and sister duo more easily found better paid jobs than the 2 girls.

They seemed to be choosing jobs from the booklet, though, not randomly trying to find them. Although it is quite difficult to tell exactly what is going on from the edit.

I agree. That was lovely, and also how he met his wife.

Anyone else currently doing GCSE maths revision and wondering what the mean, mode and median is 😂 ?

Ah, yes, I was trying to remember where one pair had mentioned racism.

Mean - 38.5
Median - 33.5
Mode - 25

I’m so pleased this is back (and I’ve finally caught up!). I love seeing new places. So many of my travels when I was younger were inspired by TV shows.
PP phrased it very well - I don’t mind the back story but don’t have time for the sob story. I also liked the sandwich scene - I want to see the nitty gritty. It was good to see the cousin’s ice creams docked then £4.50!
Such a shame there’s an elimination. I think a pp asked if they know - yes, on the destination card IIRC it tells them.

I love Margo, but liveliness aside, it’s probably also because she’s the only female of a certain age which seems a great shame.

I would love to go on the show. I probably don’t have a good enough sob story to get selected, and I need to wait until DC are older. I have the friend lined up, but we’d get vilified if we left out DC for two months at the moment (plus DH isn’t up for the childcare, I might have asked 🤣).

I’ve always assumed they can’t actually “work” because of visa, tax, and general paperwork, and rather that the job catalogue is preselected businesses willing to be filmed with jobs available, but that that cash is provided by the production company.
Does anyone know?

I assumed the same. They're not real jobs.

Sometimes they just get bed and board, don't they?

Love Margot. I'd definitely want to be friends with her.
Re jobs, you probably have to go out of your way to get to them. Wasting time. The cousins were trying to fill their gaps so a bit different.

Katie is so mature. I missed any mention to them being in care.