Race Across the World captivated viewers on Wednesday night as the winner of the fourth series was crowned after eight gruelling weeks of challenges.
Five teams of two were tasked with racing through a series of checkpoints to the Indonesian island of Lombok, with friends Alfie and Owen ultimately emerging as winners.
But while the challenge certainly looks tough on screen, previous contestants and staff have revealed some behind-the-scenes secrets.
Series four winner Alfie, 20, confirmed that teams will be able to stay in secret hotels at each checkpoint for up to two days, but this will not be shown in the episode.
Alfie debunked the rumours in a Facebook group dedicated to the show, revealing he had had to stay in the hotel for “safety reasons”.
“We’ll be changing it depending on the end time, mainly for safety reasons, to make sure nobody’s leaving at ridiculous hours,” he said.
Meanwhile, series two contestant Jen, who took part with her husband Rob, also revealed that the team are always accompanied by a member of the crew.
She insisted that “there isn’t much viewers won’t see,” although two producers accompanying the team will not be shown to viewers on screen.
Jen also revealed that they have a “local fixer” and paramedics running about an hour behind them in case of any emergencies.
She told i: “There are always two crew members and a medical staff member, with a local fixer right behind. No matter what people think, the crew are not actually contributing, no matter how nonsensical our decisions may be.”
“I remember crossing into a different time zone and nearly missing important transport – staff just had to adapt. It’s the same with our job directory – we simply put together all the genuine jobs available locally.”
When asked if it was really as hard as it looked on screen, Jen replied, “People always ask me if it was really as hard as it looked. The short answer is yes. I thought that once the cameras stopped rolling, the buffet cart would come out and I’d be handed the keys to a luxury hotel, but I was totally wrong. I really did have to sleep in hammocks. For me, ignorance was bliss.”
Jen shared that the crew always traveled with them and there always needed to be space for them on various forms of transportation, such as buses.
She explained that the trip would only be possible if at least one member of the crew could accompany them, but insisted that this would in no way affect their route.
Executive producer Mark Saven told the BBC: “They got to make the same journey as them, sleeping next to them on the bus.”
“They were like a family with ups and downs. While we were out scouting, the team discovered some totally amazing things about the world.”
Mark told the broadcaster that visas and vaccines for “every conceivable country” had been arranged in advance, and “all possible bus and train options, costs and connections” were being explored.
“It’s fine to do it in theory, looking at schedules and things like that,” he said, but added, “Until someone actually tries it, you don’t know where the challenges are.”
“We have developed protocols that lay out the rules for our teams to hitchhike, travel at night and cross the border safely.”
Mark revealed that despite having fixers and doctors on site, they were instructed to keep their distance to make the experience feel authentic.
He said, “How they take their journey is up to them, which meant that as creators we had to react to their decisions, no matter how pointless they may seem.”
“It was a production management nightmare trying to decide where competing producers would go. Don’t underestimate how difficult this journey can be at times.”
MailOnline has contacted Race Across The World for comment.
Wednesday night’s broadcast saw the 15,000-kilometer race across East Asia come to a tense conclusion with two pairs of runners battling for the lead nearing the finish line.
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 boys.
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 and asked the cameraman for a hug, admitting he had no idea his sister felt that way.