Although it might not have the Bushtucker Trials of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! or the physical demands of SAS: Who Dares Wins, but there is no doubt that Race Across The World is one of the toughest shows on TV – and that goes for both its contestants and production team.

Now into its sixth season, with a new crop of travellers being put through their paces on a globe-trotting adventure, most viewers are now familiar with the rules of the BBC show.

But what about all the parts that we don’t know about, and the planning that goes into making the show? Well, allow us to lift the lid…

If you thought bosses just came up with a route for the contestants and hoped for the best, you’d be wrong. In fact, a whole team of people test it out beforehand.

Line producer Maria Kennedy told Radio Times: “You get some really brave people out on the road for a couple of months [from the production team]. [They tell us], ‘Here are going to be the sticking points. This is quite tricky. This bit is amazing’.”

She added: “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.”

According to the Guardian, only two producers go on the dry run, only one of whom actually knows the route and which way they are going.

“The other person has no idea and that person is in charge of making the decisions,” series producer Lucy Curtis said.

Each time travels with two members of the production crew, a local fixer and a security adviser, but they apparently keep enough distance to “make the trip feel authentic”, the Guardian reported.

Executive producer Mark Saben also told BBC News that a medical support vehicle also travels an hour or so behind the teams in some countries.

Mark Saben told Broadcast that a director of photography and a series director follow all the teams, capturing the atmospheric camera shots that showcase the destinations.

He explained: “Not only did they shoot those big sweeping drone shots that capture the beauty and scale of their surroundings, but also the on-the-ground shots that convey the hustle and bustle of travelling, so viewers would feel immersed in the competitors’ journeys.”

The production team have to stay quiet, even when it is clear that the teams are making mistakes.

Mark told Broadcast: “How they made their journey was up to them. 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.”

Executive producer Stephen Day also told The Telegraph: “We will intervene if they’re in danger, and we have a real duty of care.

“If contestants – and there have been some – who are so focussed on budget that they’re not eating then you have to get them to spend money on food.”

However, producers accompanying the participants on the road are not allowed to outright give them food, either.

Praising the embedded crews, exec Mark told the BBC: “They had to do the same journey as them, sleeping alongside them on the bus, they weren’t given a five-star hotel. 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.”

Having done the initial recce before filming began, executive producer Mark Saben told BBC News that “one of the poor sods had to do the actual trip again”, this time with the real contestants.

“He was very stoical and didn’t tell them until the very end, though. As much as possible, we wanted it to feel like a dry run,” Mark added.

Prior to filming, exec producer Mark said the first series was “a year in the making”, but added to the BBC: “It’s all very well doing theoretically, looking at timetables and things. But until someone does it for real, you don’t know where the difficulties might lie.”

Things like visas and vaccines “for every conceivable country” were sorted in advance.

He added to Broadcast that they also “research every likely bus and train option, cost and connection”.

“We drew up protocols that set rules for how the teams could hitchhike, travel at night and cross borders safely,” he added.

“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,” Maria Kennedy explained (per Radio Times).

While the pamphlet of job ads is created by bosses, all the jobs are 100% 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 said, according to 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.”

Executive producer Mark Saben added: “We use as a rule of thumb, it’s like what you’d find on a board in a hostel or something like that so we want [it] to feel absolutely as authentic as it possibly can be.”

With budgets extremely tight, eating can become a real issue for the teams, and while you might think they are being given extras off camera, this is not the case.

Series two winner Emon Choudhury – who triumphed with his nephew Jamiul – said they would often ask strangers for food and water.

He told the Daily Express: “I lost over a stone, a stone and a half and the same with my nephew, he lost quite a bit as well. 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 also 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. I went down a dress size from 14 to 12!” Elaine said.

“Water is more important. We took chlorine tablets, so we didn’t have to buy bottled water. That saved both money and time because we never had to find shops. Kebabs in Europe, rice in Asia, and we never bought any drink.”

While season one of Race Across The World saw contestants travel from London to Singapore, and season two saw them begin in Mexico and end in Argentina, the third series was contained to just one country – Canada.

This was because when the show was filmed, there were still many Covid travel restrictions still in place, which would have been an added complication for the teams and the production.

The third season and the celebrity edition were originally planned to air much earlier, but production was pulled early into the pandemic.

Season three winners, Tricia Sail and Cathie Rowe revealed that they first applied for the show in 2019, but didn’t hear anything back until 2021 because of Covid.

Race Across The World continues on Thursday nights at 8pm on BBC One.

It’s looking increasingly like Strictly Come Dancing will be a noticeably different show when it returns to our screens in the autumn.

Over the last few months, a number of the show’s resident professional dancers have parted ways with Strictly under a variety of circumstances, while it’s also been suggested that companion show It Takes Two could be getting something of an overhaul, too.

Then, of course, there’s the search for a new presenting team in the wake of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s exits at the end of last year.

Before her departure, Tess had been with Strictly since its inception in 2004, with Claudia joining on a permanent basis a decade later, taking over presenting duties from the late Sir Bruce Forsyth.

When the duo began hosting together, they made history as the first female presenting team to front a primetime show, and there’s no denying that Strictly viewers are going to miss their unique dynamic on those wintery Saturday nights.

But, with Tess and Claudia having now left the ballroom for good, fans are now looking to the future, and speculating over exactly who could be brought in to fill their shoes.

Rumours began circulating late last year, with The Sun publishing a list of names supposedly doing “chemistry tests” with the aim of landing the coveted Strictly role.

Since then, there’ve been a fair few developments, including one report claiming that BBC bosses could be looking to boost Strictly’s presenting team from two to three to shake things up even more.

As we wait for further news, here’s a quick round-up of everyone who’s been rumoured for the gig so far…

When we first heard that there were two vacant spots on the Strictly presenting line-up, our minds immediately went to Zoe Ball, who competed in the third series before going on to front companion show It Takes Two for 10 seasons.

She’s even guest hosted the main show, filling in for Claudia Winkleman back in 2014.

Zoe has also expressed interest in the job, with the rumour mill going into overdrive when she was included in The Sun’s supposed presenter shortlist, with the tabloid naming her the “frontrunner” for the gig as recently as February.

The Sun’s piece naming Zoe Ball as a frontrunner claimed that the job search had become a “straight shoot-out” between her and another popular British presenter, Emma Willis.

Emma is best known for her work fronting a variety of reality shows over the years, including The Voice, The Circle and Big Brother.

More regularly, she’s also become a regular face on This Morning, and gained a more international audience when she began co-hosting the UK edition of Love Is Blind alongside her famous husband Matt Willis.

According to The Sun’s “source”, the BBC were hoping to pair either Zoe or Emma with a “more left-field person” with a “female stand-up comedian” being the preferred choice.

Just days after this, the Daily Mail published a piece saying that Mel Giedroyc was being “eyed” for a presenting role at the helm of Strictly.

It was claimed that Mel’s “gentle touch” and ability to “use humour to relieve [any] tension”, as displayed during her time in the Great British Bake Off tent, had made her a favourite for the job.

Mel can currently be seen in action in the latest season of Last One Laughing, and has recently competed on The Masked Singer and fronted the TV quiz show adaptation of Pictionary.

She also took part in the annual Strictly Christmas special back in 2021, where she was paired with Neil Jones.

Self-professed Strictly super-fan Miranda Hart was mentioned as a possible new host by The Sun in late March 2026.

According to the tabloid, Miranda was being considered for the role due to the fact that she and Claudia Winkleman share a similar sense of humour, with a source describing the rumoured signing as a “massive coup for the BBC”.

Another former Strictly star rumoured to be on the BBC’s “golden ten” shortlist late last year, Angela Scanlon competed on the show in 2023, where she was paired up with now-reigning champion Carlos Gu.

The Irish presenter is best known for her work on shows like Robot Wars, Your Home Made Perfect and The One Show, and will next be seen trying her luck on The Celebrity Apprentice.

In March 2026, the Daily Mail said it was increasingly likely that Angela would bag one of the Strictly presenting jobs, following “meetings over the past few weeks with show bosses”.

A week after the Mail named Angela Scanlon as a top pick to take over as one of Strictly’s new hosts, the same publication claimed that she and Rylan Clark were a potential new duo.

They cited a “Strictly source” who suggested that bosses liked the idea of creating a new presenting pair rather than relying on an existing TV duo, and that Angela and Rylan would definitely fit the bill.

Meanwhile, The Sun claimed more recently that bosses were looking to add a male presenter into the mix, rather than trying to replicate Claudia and Tess’ dynamic, with Rylan one of three names mentioned as being in the frame.

Like Zoe Ball, Rylan previously fronted the spin-off show It Takes Two for four seasons between 2019 and 2022, and is a regular fixture on the BBC thanks to his Radio 2 show, his coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest and his travel series Rob And Rylan’s Grand Tour, which he co-presents with Rob Rinder (more on him in a sec).

Even before he was included on The Sun’s list of the “golden ten” stars supposedly in consideration for the Strictly gig, Bradley Walsh was named in the press as a top pick to take over at the helm of the dance show.

Currently known for his work at the helm of The Chase, Gladiators and Blankety Blank, the tabloid reported in November that Bradley was being “lined up” by higher-ups at the BBC to take over from Tess and Claudia, as part of an apparent “revamp” for the show.

Last month, The Sun revived the speculation when they included him in their shortlist of three male stars reportedly in consideration to join Strictly’s new presenting team.

However, despite the persistent rumours, Bradley has repeatedly cast doubt on the suggestion that he’ll be taking over at the helm of Strictly.

Last year, when Bradey’s name was mentioned in the press for the first time as a possible Strictly host, The One Show host Alex Jones was also suggested as a potential co-host.

Back in November 2025, The Sun cited “insiders” who claimed that Alex and Bradley were being “courted as the perfect partnership” to take over the show.

Later, Alex was also one of the 10 names listed to be on the rumoured shortlist, and while many other names have been mentioned in the months since, the tabloid insisted as recently as March that she was “still the favourite” in producers’ eyes.

Since competing on The X Factor in 2014, Fleur East has carved a new career for herself as a presenter, fronting Hits Radio’s breakfast show, as well as a recurring segment on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.

Fleur has most notably fronted Strictly’s companion show It Takes Two since 2023, a year after competing on the main show, making it to the final alongside her professional partner Vito Coppola.

In March, The Sun mentioned that the Sax singer was still “in the mix”, indicating she could still land one of the coveted presenting slots.

One of the most recent additions to the ever-growing list of rumoured hosts is Striclty pro Johannes Radebe.

Johannes has been a favourite of Strictly fans ever since he first joined as a professional dancer in 2018, and in March, The Sun named him as a wildcard third male star near the top of bosses’ wishlists, alongside Bradley Walsh and Rylan Clark.

If the South African performer did land the job, it wouldn’t be the first time a former Strictly pro moved to a different role within the show.

Current It Takes Two host Janette Manrara was previously a pro dancer on Strictly, as was resident judge Anton Du Beke.

Tess and Claudia’s Strictly exits were announced in the middle of last year’s series of The Celebrity Traitors, meaning plenty of people’s minds immediately went to scene-stealer Alan Carr as a favourite for the hosting job.

Already a popular stand-up comic, Alan has plenty of TV experience to his name now, not just as host of his talk show Chatty Man, but also series like Picture Slam, Interior Design Masters and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.

Unfortunately, he quickly poured water on the rumours, insisting the gig would be “too nerve-racking” for him.

That being said, he was still named in The Sun’s subsequent list of possible hosts, even if the man himself seems less keen on the suggestion.

Also on that list was Amanda Holden, with whom Alan has now shared the screen on a number of occasions.

Like Alan, Amanda was mentioned on The Sun’s rumoured shortlist, but also dispelled the rumours, insisting that her commitments with Britain’s Got Talent would mean she wouldn’t be able to do Strictly.

“We are so flattered to be in that mix,” she told her Heart listeners. “[But] we both are not doing it.”

Of course, it was always going to be inevitable that rumours about Holly Willoughby landing the gig would also start to circulate.

Former Dancing On Ice host Holly – who has been keeping something of a low profile since her This Morning exit in 2023 – was named as the bookies’ favourite for the hosting gig almost immediately, after which Daily Mail reporter Richard Eden wrote in his column that he’d heard from former BBC One controller Peter Fincham that a reliable source had told him that the job was Holly’s for the taking.

He alleged: “My hairdresser also cuts the hair of a well-known channel controller. What’s said in Harry’s the hairdresser stays in Harry’s. But he says with great confidence that Holly Willoughby will take over.”

Tabloid reports stretching as far back as 2023 even suggested that the BBC had been hoping to “lure” Holly over to them from ITV via a rumoured offer to present Strictly, two years before Tess and Claudia even announced they were departing.

More recently, Holly was included on the “golden ten” list published in The Sun.

Daytime legend Alison Hammond was also reported by The Sun to be one of the stars undergoing “chemistry tests” to try and land the co-presenting gig on Strictly Come Dancing.

Following this, she made an appearance on Loose Women where the Great British Bake Off presenter made no secret of her hopes to end up with the Strictly hosting job.

When she was still more of a beloved cult figure than a full-blown national treasure, Alison competed on Strictly back in 2014, where she was partnered with Aljaz Skorjanec.

The Sun’s much-cited piece about the search for the new Strictly hosts mentioned that bosses were considering existing presenting teams, mentioning travelogue stars Rylan and Rob Rinder.

Rob – who first rose to fame as the host of Judge Rinder and now regularly co-presents ITV’s Good Morning Britain – was also reported to be taking “chemistry tests” with a variety of different potential co-hosts with the prospect of forming a new duo to front Strictly Come Dancing.

Oti Mabuse is undoubtedly one of the most popular Strictly pros in the show’s history, and since parting ways with the show, has become a regular fixture on screen, judging Dancing On Ice, fronting the dating show Romeo & Duet, briefly landing her own ITV daytime series and regular popping up on the Loose Women panel.

The same day Tess and Claudia’s departures were announced, Strictly staple Craig Revel Horwood (now the show’s longest-serving fixture) named Oti as his top pick to inherit the presenting job, alongside Alan Carr.

We are going to continue manifesting this as long as we possibly can, alright? Give. Her. The. Job.

Race Across the World returns for its sixth series on Thursday night, with five new intrepid teams taking on the journey of a lifetime in the hopes of getting their hands on a hefty cash prize.

This time around, the pairs must race more than 12,000km across Europe and Asia, taking in the sights of Italy, Greece, Türkiye, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. With no smartphones, internet access or bank cards, the duos are armed with nothing but the cash equivalent of flying the same route, in the hopes of reaching the finish point before their time or money runs out.

As fans get ready for the exciting launch show, here are those taking on the challenge of the most extreme race to date in this year’s series of Race Across The World…

Childhood best friends from Liverpool, Jo and Kush, are the youngest duo in the race, both aged just 19. Still living at home, and fresh from finishing their A-levels, the pair are taking on independence in the most extreme way.

Both at a crossroads in their lives, the two thought Race Across The World would be a great opportunity to travel before going to uni.

“When the opportunity came up, we thought it would be a fantastic experience and something we could look back on and learn from,” Kush said.

Though they may be young, they have some experience travelling, as Kush has spent three months backpacking through Thailand – although the idea of making their way across Europe and Asia without their phones will no doubt still come as a shock to the duo.

Jo and Kush hope their social skills and ability to talk to strangers will help them on this mammoth journey, although it sounds like they are far more concerned with enjoying new experiences than winning the competition.

“I believe hardship builds personality and this is a very niche but intense situation so coming out of the experience with a bit more maturity and different perspective on life – it’s not just Liverpool,” Kush said.

Katie, a 21-year-old account manager, and her 23-year-old brother, finance assistant Harrison, hope their opposing personalities will help them during the race.

Harrison wanted to join the show to push himself and his sister out of their comfort zones. The competitive siblings have their eyes on the prize and think their money-management skills will help them cross the finish line first.

Their weakness? Harrison might want to blow their limited budget on food.

“I think mine will be hunger, or not even hunger but just wanting to eat,” he claimed when asked about his biggest challenge.

While competitive, neither sibling is very adventurous, so Race Across The World promises to broaden their perspective and build their confidence as travellers.

“The motivation isn’t the money at the end, it’s to try and live a different life for a couple of months and just experience everything, and if we can win it whilst doing it, that is great,” Harrison added.

Hilariously, one of the items Harrison brought on his journey was a list of Man United fixtures, so he knew when to ask people for the football scores on his travels.

Junior doctor Molly wants to prove to her geography teacher dad, Andrew, that she’s more capable than he gives her credit for.

For Andrew, backpacking is a lifelong dream that the 54-year-old has never had the time or money to complete. While travelling on the cheap was his wife’s nightmare, he finally gets to live out his dream with his daughter.

Their strengths and weaknesses on this trip might be the same, as 23-year-old Molly is very sociable and chatty – but her dad worries that he might not be able to keep her quiet!

“I kind of just go and lead by directness, and I need to rein that in every now and then, but Molly is quite good at reining that in for me,” Andrew explained, but admitted that it can balance out his quiet personality.

He added: “I can sometimes get caught in my own world instead of externalising it which in some ways is good, but I need to work on it.”

While the duo are inexperienced travellers, they hope their competitive edge and strong father-daughter relationship will help them take the lead in the competition.

However, Molly does worry about being away from her beloved celebrity gossip and hair-dryer.

Cousins Puja and Roshni spent their twenties building successful careers in London, but are looking for some adventure now they’re in their early 30s.

Puja, a big fan of Race Across The World, was inspired to sign up after hitting a career block and feeling like her life was passing her by too quickly.

“I think living in London and having a job, you kind of live your life in fast forward, and then before you know it, you’re 50 years old,” she admitted.

Doctor Puja had previously backpacked, and her software engineer cousin Roshni has also travelled around Cuba, so both were experienced at visiting a country without fancy hotels or pre-planned itineraries.

Because of their jobs, Puja and Roshni feel confident racing under pressure and think their strengths will be keeping to the tight budget and staying organised.

Although a win would be great for the cousins, the duo are more concerned with making the most of their time off, spending much-needed time together, and learning about new cultures.

Puja explained: “Being able to accomplish that and get to the end, I think is going to be a massive accomplishment and proof to both of us that we can pretty much do anything we set our mind to. The other bits of it are just like what we learn from local people, from different lifestyles, different cultures, and learning more about how life can be a lot slower than what we live at home.”

Lastly, there is the unlikely duo of 66-year-old Mark and his 59-year-old sister-in-law, Margo. The retired London-based architect and the Liverpudlian hypnotherapist have had a fractious relationship for the last four decades, but recently became close after the death of Margo’s sister and Mark’s wife.

Margo signed the pair up for Race Across The World to celebrate their late loved one.

“We’ve been through this experience with losing my big sister and him losing his wife,” she said. “It seemed like a celebratory thing that we could do together. This was a new journey that could be exciting and like a renewal.”

Both are adventurous and don’t believe in living life with limits, having interrailed in their youth, as well as skydived, hiked, and done… well… pretty much any other dangerous thing they could think of.

“There isn’t a limit on what we’d have a go at. We’re going to live as dangerously as they’ll allow us,” Margot revealed.

Mark and Margo admit they are in it to win it, with a track record of travelling the world, although the duo do admit they can get a little cranky when hungry and tired, and Mark fears he could crumble under pressure.

Race Across The World airs on Thursday nights at 8pm on BBC One.

It’s hard to imagine the long, cold winters without The Traitors to keep us all entertained – but luckily, you won’t have to for a long while.

The BBC is remaining faithful to The Traitors and its celebrity spin-off as it renews the show until at least 2030, meaning we’re in for at least four more seasons of backstabbing, shocking murders and unpredictable roundtable action.

Tim Davie, the outgoing BBC director-general, announced the exciting news during a valedictory speech to The Royal Television Society on Thursday morning.

While the main show and its celebrity format had already been renewed for additional seasons, this new deal means The Traitors will run for at least eight seasons in total.

The Celebrity Traitors‘ second season will air later this year, following the runaway success of the first last autumn, with a further three star-studded seasons planned through to late 2029.

Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment commissioning at the BBC, said in a new statement: “We can’t wait to share many more twists and turns with viewers all across the UK in the coming years.”

Meanwhile, the CEO of production company Studio Lambert, Stephen Lambert, enthused: “The Traitors has become a genuine television phenomenon across the world, but especially in the UK, and we’re thrilled to continue the journey with the BBC.

“It’s hugely exciting that audiences will have many more years of strategy, suspense and shocking twists still to come.”

It’s no surprise that the BBC wants to keep the show on air for as long as possible, given The Traitors has become a cultural phenomenon and a mammoth ratings success.

The Celebrity Traitors debuted on BBC One in October to an average audience of 14.9m, with 15.4m tuning in to watch Alan Carr win the series.

Meanwhile, the most recent regular run – which aired earlier this year – also hit a series high with a record-breaking 9.4 million average viewers tuning in to watch the finale on BBC One.

This new deal also cements iPlayer’s position as the British home of the international The Traitors franchise, with versions from the US, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia remaining exclusive to the iPlayer.

However, although The Traitors’ future is secure, one element recently added to the show is not.

Speaking at an event at the University of East Anglia in Norfolk, Lambert admitted there are no plans to bring back the divisive “Secret Traitor” twist when the show returns to our screens next year.

“There have been other shows which have done something similar, where the audience didn’t know who ‘the mole’ was, and the trouble is you’re completely a victim of the edit… and that doesn’t feel very satisfying,” he admitted.

Filming for the upcoming fifth season of The Traitors is expected to start this summer, with the season airing early next year.

The Celebrity Traitors’ second season will hit our screens in the autumn, and although a line-up has yet to be revealed, the likes Ruth Jones, Danny Dyer and Alison Hammond are rumoured to be entering the castle.

The most recent season of The Traitors introduced a new twist that split fans right down the middle.

In the latest run’s opening episode, Claudia Winkleman explained that, for the first time, a “Secret Traitor” was being appointed, who even viewers were being kept in the dark about the identity of.

Of course, in the end, the twist lasted for just three episodes, before Fiona was unmasked to viewers as the figure in the red cloak.

While the efficacy of the “Secret Traitor” twist is definitely still up for debate, Traitors producer Stephen Lambert has insisted it’s not one we should expect to see repeated when the castle reopens its doors.

“What I like about The Traitors is there’s so many ways that story can go […] once you add a different cast and once you think of some additional tweaks here and there,” he told an audience at the University Of East Anglia, as reported by IGN.

“After the huge success of the Celebrity Traitors, we introduced the idea of a Secret Traitor as a way of doing something that was different, but it wasn’t something we wanted to keep going with.”

He conceded: “The trouble is you’re completely a victim of the edit – and that doesn’t feel very satisfying.”

Filming on the upcoming fifth season of The Traitors is due to begin filming in the summer – as is shooting on the second season of the show’s celebrity counterpart.

While a line-up is yet to be confirmed for The Celebrity Traitors’ second output, a number of stars have already been rumoured to be joining the cast, including the likes of Ruth Jones, Danny Dyer and Alison Hammond.

Meanwhile, if you’re missing having Claudia on our screens, her new BBC talk show kicks off on Friday night, with her star-studded inaugural guests having already been unveiled.