Race Across The World 2025 cast finally revealed – everything we know

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We have just days to go before Race Across The World returns to our screens, and details about the new season are slowly being revealed.

The fifth series of the Bafta-award winning show will see five teams trek across Asia with the aim of winning £20,000.

They’ll be hoping to follow in the footsteps of season four winners Alfie and Owen, who were the first to make it through the 15,000km across Eastern Asia and win the cash prize last year.

This time around, the teams will be navigating across China, Nepal and India in a race of over 14,000km to reach the finish line, Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of India.

Of course, they’ll have no bank cards or smartphones to help them along the way, and will be pushed to their absolute limits.

Let’s find out who is taking on the challenge…

Who is taking part in Race Across The World 2025? Gaz and Yin

Best friends Gaz and Yin are planning on using their unique, dynamic and combined skills to win as they embark on journeys of self-discover throughout the race.

Former married couple Gaz and Yin are taking on the adventure (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Gary Moyes)

When asked about why they wanted to take part in the series, Yin explained: ‘The last year has been quite a personal journey for me. Gaz and I, although we used to be married, we’ve been separated for about three years. And then when we split up, I found another partner, but he passed away suddenly in September.

‘The last year has been tough, but one of the things that Chris gave me was a real sense of adventure, and he really liked traveling. We talked a lot about traveling and so when this came along I thought why not, something inside me made me fill out the application form.’

Yin was living in Gaz’s under-the-stairs cupboard at the time as he was looking after her during her grieving period, and suggested the idea of Race Across The World to him.

She added: ‘He was like yeah, whatever. He probably just said it more to amuse me, because he obviously knew what I was going through at that moment. But before we knew it, he’d filled out the application and the journey had begun!’

The pair are hoping to turn the adventure into a cherished memory (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert)

The pair, who share a daughter together, are hoping to look back on Race Across The World as a cherished memory, with Gaz saying: ‘We’ll always look back on it as we’ve done it together, as best friends, it’s so unique and will be such a wonderful story.

‘It’s not lost on us that were very lucky. It’s a memory that will stay with us forever.’

Where is the 2025 Race Across The World route starting?

The starting point of this year’s epic race is none other than The Great Wall of China.

They’ll then trek through China, Nepal and to India, racing more than 14,000km to the finish line.

The final ending point will bethe stunning Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of India.

Elizabeth and Letitia

Sisters Elizabeth and Letitia, an extrovert and an introvert, are ready to spend some quality time together after nearly a decade of living in different countries.

Sisters Elizabeth and Letitia are looking forward to spending some quality time together (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Gary Moyes)

They’re planning on relying on the kindness of strangers to get them through the journey, and think their differences will actually help them move forward.

When asked what their biggest challenges may be, Elizabeth said: ‘I think maybe just pushing each other. I feel like we’ve both been quite resilient individually. But we’re working as a team now and it’s pushing each other to keep on going.

‘Being with each other 24-7 as well. Maybe deciding together on things. Like thinking about which choice is the best thing out of both of our choices. And which one do we decide on when we’re indecisive, both of us. That might be a bit challenging.’

She added: ‘This is such a once in a lifetime opportunity. Anything that we get out of this experience, I’ll be so grateful for. But I think just exploring the world and really pushing ourselves to the best of our ability. Sometimes I think we play it too safe, so pushing ourselves to the best of our ability whilst also staying present, exploring the world and having fun.’

They’re ready to take on the challenge (Picture: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert)

Letitia is also hoping to ‘step out of reality and the everyday mundane life’ on this once-in-a-lifetime trip.

‘Just experiencing the world, experiencing something new, being present and challenging ourselves as well,’ she went on, when asked what she was hoping to get out of the experience.

Fin and Sioned

Young couple Fin and Sioned are swapping their small-town life in Wales for an adventure across the world.

Fin and Sioned are on a make-or-break trip (Pictur:BBC/Studio Lambert/Gary Moyes)

‘It’s a way to see if me and her can be together basically, if it can work together. A challenge to see if it will make or break us,’ Fin admitted.

Though they don’t have a strategy, they’ve been preparing with hikes and living without their phones, and are going into the competition ‘very competitive’.

Sioned added: ‘We’re good together because anything that Fin can’t do, I can, and vice versa.’

When asked why they’re taking part, she went on: ‘More self-discovery. We’ve been together a long, long time, and it’s been very samey for the past four and a half years.’

The couple are on the hunt for self-discovery (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert)

‘We’ve never had a proper challenge. This will push us and we have a lot of learning to do,’ Fin added.

Brian and Melvyn

Brothers Brian and Melvyn are hoping to have the chance to reconnect and have fun together, like they did as children.

They’re seeing the trip as an excuse to get together for some quality time and ‘relive some of our old adventures’ from their childhood and teenage days.

Predicting a few arguments along the way, the pair admitted they’ve never spent this long together before.

Brothers Brian and Melvin are hoping to reconnect through this experience (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Gary Moyes)

Melvyn said: ‘Not only have we not spent this amount of time together as adults, we’ve never spent this much time away from our partners either. I’ve been married 44 years, Brian’s been married 38 years, so that’s a big wrench for us.’

They added they’ll be disappointed if they don’t win as they’re both very competitive and ‘winners by nature’.

Melvyn went on: ‘We’re both very controlling, we think. We organise our lives. We like to be in control of what we do. We both need to be in control of where we’re going, what we’re doing. So that might cause a bit of a problem.

‘All we have promised each other is if we make a bad decision, then we go with it. We’re not going to get on at one another because we’ll have discussed it anyway. We go with it and then we get out of it.

‘We’re here to enjoy and do our best and were going to feed off the experience and learn from it.’

They’re predicting a few arguments along the way (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert)

He added that he doesn’t want to ‘let anybody down’ or embarrass their families, while Brian said: ‘We’re really going to grasp it. We’re extremely grateful. We never thought we’d have a cat in hell’s chance. It’s still quite unreal and surreal now.’

Caroline and Tom

Mother-son duo Caroline and Tom are coming from very different backgrounds when it comes to travelling.

Tom has travelled, whereas Caroline never had the opportunity. Now, she wants to prove she’s more than ‘just mum’ while Tom wants her to see the world through his eyes.

Mother-son duo Caroline and Tom are taking on the competition together (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Gary Moyes)

‘I’ve never applied for anything like this before, I’ve never done anything like this, I’ve never done anything out of my comfort zone or ever arranged any travel and I just knew it was made for me and the perfect person was Thomas. Thomas felt the same. We were made for it, or the programme was made for us,’ she said.

Tom added: ‘Exactly the same as mum, I love travelling – I never thought I’d travel with my mum, but the fact that i get to travel and see the world, and do it with her is just perfect.’

Though they’re not looking forward to the lack of sleep, food, comforts and hygiene, Caroline hopes their love for each other means they’ll be encouraging each other throughout the journey.

When asked what surprising thing viewers will learn, Caroline replied: ‘I would like to prove that age doesn’t mean you’re getting older and slower necessarily, and that you can still have the same opportunities and still grab them.

‘I can still go travelling, even though I’m 60 and maybe a grandmother’s age, but I’m still capable and can go out with a rucksack, I can keep up. I can do things, I can want to have the adventure just as much.’

They’re hoping to make some ‘treasured memories’ (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert)

She added that she hopes to get ‘treasured memories’ out of the experience, adding: ‘For me, family is the most important thing. I don’t think money could buy this experience. I think this will stand Thomas in good stead and I’ll be incredibly lucky to be able to watch him go through life and think maybe this has helped set him up and I was part of it.’

When does Race Across The World 2025 start?

Race Across The World airs from Wednesday, April 23 at 9pm, with new episodes airing weekly.

The nine episodes will run into June before we find out which pair are crowned winners of season five.

Race Across The World starts on Wednesday, April 23, on BBC One and iPlayer.

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