Race Across the World‘s final looks nail-biting.
The winners who take home the £20,000 prize money are a big secret and won’t be revealed until the BBC One show airs at 9pm on Wednesday. There are some very telling moments that have been revealed before the final though.
RATW’s final involves a lot of racing and even perhaps dashed dreams.
Previous leg winners Brian and Melvyn have got a lot of catching up to do. The brothers are disappointed to find out they are 17 hours behind. It put them in surprise last place in the penultimate leg after a detour to a vineyard took them miles out of the race.
Days away from the final Brian and Melvyn were revealed as the favourites to win, getting 850 votes out of 2,288 on a Yahoo UK poll. In a dramatic trailer for the final played moments after the episode ended, the siblings haven’t given up hope of coming first. “Why can’t we catch up 19 hours?” Melvyn asks. “Everybody knows you can catch up time.”
He’s not wrong either. Sioned and Fin caught up 33 hours the leg before after a series of disasters with transport in India. The teenage couple are now in third place and continue to push forward with the race at the front of mind.
First look photographs of the final seen below show Fin and Sioned focusing on taking transport to the final destination.
Final first look in pictures
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Race Across the World final
Race Across the World’s Fin and Sioned are seen prioritising travel on the final leg of the race. (BBC/Studio Lambert)
Where is the Race Across the World final checkpoint?
All four teams are racing towards Kanyakumari on the southern tip of India after travelling 14,000 km from the Great Wall of China.
They all start the race just 1,200km from the finish line. The pairs have spent seven weeks racing through China, Nepal and India. As the race nears an end, relationships are tested, bonds are deepened and incredible incredible memories are made.
How does the Race Across the World final work?
Once in Kanyakumari, the teams will be given a vague set of instructions. Cue a lot of running shots as everyone battles their rucksacks (except Melvyn who is carrying his wheelie case).
All teams should have the opportunity to cross the finish line as long as they don’t run out of money which often remains one of the biggest fears of contestants taking part.
Race Across the World’s final teaser
Letitia and Elizabeth are racing on speedboats on Race Across the World. (BBC)
Everyone can see the finish line within their grasp now. Fin and Sioned, who came second early on in the race, have a fierce determination to win. In a telling sequence from the preview clip, Fin says: “We just need to get that extra little push to win. We can do it.”
And they’re not the only ones in it to win. Mother and son Caroline and Tom are the current race leaders and they’re fixed on making it to the checkpoint first. “It all comes down to now,” Caroline tells Tom in the taxi.
He responds: “We’ve seen the world and now we’re racing.”
They don’t lose pace. Later taking a speedboat, Caroline shares her desires of winning the BBC show. “If Thomas and I can win this race, it would mean the world to me,” she says. “I feel the pressure is on!”
In a separate sequence, Letitia acknowledges wrong move could be race-changing. “One mishap could jeopardise our position,” she tells her sister Elizabeth as they are on the move.
Gripping scenes show three of the teams catching speedboats. Two teams — Caroline and Tom and Letitia and Elizabeth — urge the speedboat driver to speed up.
Fin and Sioned reflect on possibility of winning on Race Across the World. (BBC)
Then it cuts to Fin and Sioned on the speedboat reflecting on the possibility of winning. “It’s all down to this book!” Sioned says. “Why does a book have so much power?”
The thrilling speedboat sequence harks back to 2024’s series where winners Alfie Watts and Owen Wood raced against their closest rivals Eugenie and Isabel to the checkpoint, eventually beating them.
It’s worth noting at this point there are no shots of Melvyn and Brian racing in the speedboats, perhaps suggesting they don’t manage to catch the time back after all.
Race Across the World continues at 9pm on BBC One on Wednesday.