Featured Image Credit: Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: BBC, Reality TV
Kya Buller
While it’s tempting to opt for a fictional thriller that has you on the edge of your seat to distract you from reality, sometimes it’s just as thrilling to plug into some good old reality TV.
We’re not talking about Love Island or The Only Way Is Essex (this time anyway).
We’re talking about an absolute banger of a reality competition.
This time around, it’s a BBC classic that’s four series’ strong to date.
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Race Across the World is a nail-biting show that follows five pairs of travellers as they take part in an epic race throughout several different countries. The catch is they can’t use planes, can’t access smartphones and can’t use the internet.
They’re given a specific cash budget, and have to work out how to use it in a way that will finance their journey all the way to the finish line.
In reality, I’m sure it’s even harder than it sounds - and that’s saying a lot.
The latest instalment of Race Across The World has had viewers' hearts racing, but there's also been more tender moments.
One contestant of the latest series, Alfie, opened up about his grief and broke down in tears as he recounted the devastating loss of his mother when he was just five years old.
The episode, which aired on April 24, was filmed as he raced with his show partner Owen through Vietnam.
Alfie was shown asking the filming team for a minute to decompress on his own after taking in the stunning surroundings – including floating lanterns.
In heartbreaking scenes he then shared that his family set off a lantern with a message attached every single year, ever since the loss of his mum.
His mum was heartbreakingly a victim of stage four breast cancer, which she was diagnosed just after he was born.
He shared: “She said, 'Well if I'm going to die, I'm at least going to die when he's in school,' so she managed to take me to school on the first day, I think it was a very proud day for her.
“It was genuinely a deterioration from there, and I think she'd kind of pushed it as far as she could in terms of battling on. She kept hanging on."
He continued: “I was five when my mum passed away, in December of 2008."
He then lit a lantern and set it off into the night sky.
He added: "This is the first opportunity I've had on the race to think about my mum.
"I'm just inundated with emotions I've genuinely not felt since I was a little kid. I just kind of want that sensation of being able to see her again."
He told the camera crew: “I miss her intensely, and I still dream of what was."
Viewers took to social media to share their heartfelt reactions.
One person wrote: “Don’t often sing the praises of the BBC, but Race Across the World is incredible viewing.”
Another added: “I've just discovered Race Across the World on BBC and it's so good!”
A third said: “I’m all cozy and settled in my hotel room and The Repair Shop and Race Across the World my favourite programmes are on tv.
"Thank goodness there is BBC to make one feel less homesick across the world.”