The Race Across the World came to a tense conclusion as two pairs of runners came neck-and-neck close to the finish line in a 15,000km race across East Asia.
After arriving at the penultimate checkpoint in Jakarta just 12 minutes apart, Alfie and Owen, along with Isabelle and Eugenie, were eager to take the lead on the final leg.
The two pairs met multiple times on the journey from Jakarta to Lombok, after which they both had to cross by boat at exactly the same time to a small island offshore.
After finding a speedboat, the pair set off quickly across the ocean, preparing to walk the rest of the way.
The race finished in a dramatic sprint along the beach, with best friends Alfie and Owen arriving at the check-in book in first place and taking home the £20,000 prize money.
Close behind their school friends were mother-daughter duo Eugenie and Isabelle, who finished just eight minutes behind.
In third place were beloved siblings Betty and her sister James, who overcame budget dwindling and trouble to arrive a day late.
Husband and wife Steven and Viv came in fourth place with a whopping £180 left over from their budget.
In a dramatic final scene, Alfie and Owen sprint across a beach surrounded by Indonesia’s sparkling tropical waters to reach the book and discover they’ve won the race.
“We did it,” they shouted and hugged each other.
Owen proudly stated, “We came, we saw, and we made it.”
“This is the best moment of our lives,” Alfie added. “Hands down. It’s unbelievable.”
Eugénie and Isabelle opened the book and saw that they were a few minutes late to the boy.
Eugenie said: “We did it, we’re in a good position and I’ve always said that if I was going to lose to anyone I wanted to lose to Alfie and Owen.”
The next day, after 24 hours and 34 minutes, Betty and James reached the finish line, followed by Steven and Viv six hours later.
The pair finished in third place, but fans feared that a reduced budget would prevent Betty and James from reaching the finish line.
The brother-sister duo captured the nation’s hearts in what was hailed as “the most moving TV moment of the year” when Betty opened up to James for the first time about her health condition.
Five couples from Japan to Indonesia are participating in this race, and they have passionate fans who support them.
But as the contestants reached the final stage on Wednesday’s episode, Betty, 25, and James, 21, panicked when they realised they had just 155 pounds left to complete the race.
This was compared to bottom-placed married couple Stephen and Viv, who set off from Jakarta to the finish line in Lombok with more than £500 in their pockets.
Fans of Betty and James took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their concerns about the couple’s race.
They wrote: “We don’t care who wins, we just want Betty and James to make it to the finish line.”
“I swear to God if Betty and James don’t finish the race…”; “Betty and James to the finish line”;
“I’ll be disappointed if Betty and James don’t make it to the end because they’re the best!”; “How are Betty and James going to do this on a 5% budget?”; “I’m worried that Betty and James won’t make it to the end”;
“Betty and James are working to earn money, but they’re never going to make it to the end.”
“Betty and James will check the budget in an hour”; “It’s a shame this isn’t live because Betty and James are so lovely and they need help with a Go Fund Me. I really hope they can complete the race.”
Last week’s penultimate episode left viewers in tears when James broke down after his “brave” sister opened up about a health condition which led to her losing her uterus.
Betty spoke about her rare congenital condition, known as MRKH, and revealed to viewers that at the age of 16, she found out she had no uterus or womb and only one kidney.
Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome (MRKH) A rare disease that affects the female reproductive system and is characterized by underdevelopment of the vagina and uterus.
Betty and James, who admit they weren’t particularly close before appearing on the show, bonded during their travels together through East Asia.
In one particularly candid conversation, Betty confided in James how living with MRKH has impacted her and her view of the world.
Speaking to the camera after the conversation, James broke down in tears, reached out to the cameraman for a hug and admitted he had no idea his sister felt that way.