In a sneak peak of BBC Two’s adrenalin-fuelled adventure series, we meet the couples who are taking part in a race to Singapore. In a world where we reach our destination by flying over rather than travelling through, these everyday Brits have agreed to give up their phones, bankcards and the trappings of modern life to journey to a destination 12,000 miles away without setting foot on a single plane. All they have is the money that the airfare would have cost on the day they set off from Greenwich in London. With this money they must eat, pay for both transport and their accommodation, so they must travel smart if they are to make it to Singapore. With a prize of £20,000 for the couple who reaches Singapore first, there is much to be gained by a father and son from Yorkshire, Darron and Alex, husband and wife Jinda and Bindu, from Nottingham, best friends of 30 years Natalie and Shameema, business partners Josh and Felix, from London, and two friends reliving a distant interrailing experience, Sue and Clare.
Five pairs of travellers travel from Greenwich to Singapore without getting on a plane or using mobile phones or credit cards. Their first port of call is Delphi.
The five teams head to their next checkpoint - Baku in Azerbaijan - a journey that will see them leave behind the familiarity of the West for the exotic and unknown of the East.
The four remaining teams leave Azerbaijan and head across the deserts, mountains and Silk Road cities of Central Asia in the third leg of the challenge. Along the way, they meet a stuntman with a high-octane car, get the chance to watch a grisly 13th-century Kazakh sport played between horse riders and using the carcass of a dead goat, and brave a storm on the Caspian sea.
The global travel series reaches another level this week as the four remaining teams enter the People’s Republic of China. After nearly a month on the road together, relationships are coming under increasing pressure in what is the most challenging leg of the race to date. With vast distances to cover to the checkpoint - the ancient village of Huangyao - budgets are running low and emotions are high.
It is the penultimate leg of BBC Two’s unrivalled travel series, that has taken viewers on a journey through the wilds of Kazakhstan to ancient villages in China. This leg sees the remaining four teams head through the dense forests and bustling metropolises of Cambodia and Vietnam, and the final checkpoint before Singapore – the island paradise of Koh Rong.
The teams face the final leg of their journey, travelling 1500 miles down the Malaysian Peninsula to Singapore. However, seven weeks on the road is starting to take its toll. Josh and Felix are reliant on the kindness of strangers, Natalie and Shameema make a desperate gamble, Tony collapses with back pain, and Darron is forced to face his fear of dogs. Last in the series.
Five teams set off from Mexico City – a gargantuan metropolis and the largest Spanish speaking city in the world - in a race to reach the most southerly city in the world, Ushuaia in Argentina.
The teams head out of Copan Ruinas in western Honduras to their next checkpoint – Panama City. Having raced hard in the previous leg, leaders Jo and Sam are keen to experience more this time.
Setting off from Panama City, the remaining four teams take to the Caribbean Sea, but there are complications when a state of emergency is declared in the destination of their next checkpoint.
As the 25,000-km race to Ushuaia approaches the half-way mark, the four teams compete not just with each other but with the extreme altitudes of Peru.
The four teams have reached the halfway mark in the 25,000km race to Ushuaia, and with only eight and a half hours between them, the race is on. To reach the next checkpoint - Cafayate in Argentina - teams must choose to travel through either Bolivia or Chile, but an unstable political climate in both countries puts everyone’s journeys at risk. With half the race still to complete, emotions are pushed to breaking point.
With three teams at the checkpoint at Cafayate in Argentina, one team is yet to arrive. Dom and Lizzie are over 24 hours behind their competitors and after a disastrous last leg, they must rely on all their ingenuity to claw their way back into the race.
With two teams at the checkpoint – Ilha Grande in Brazil – the remaining teams are engaged in a frantic race to avoid finishing the leg in last place. Dom and Lizzie are on foot running through the jungle, whilst Jo and Sam are paddling furiously in a canoe across the bay. It is a nail-biting ending, and the siblings just manage to edge out their rivals and sign into the book.
The teams embark on the final leg of their journey, heading off on the 4,800 kilometre trek to the finish line in Ushuaia, Argentina, the most southerly city in the world. However, as they prepare to leave the last checkpoint, one of the teams reveals that they have run out of money and will not be completing the challenge. The three remaining pairs rely on different tactics to get ahead, benefiting from risky gambles, lucky opportunities and the kindness of strangers.
The five teams reunite for the first time to reveal fascinating insights into their different strategies and individual experiences - from their highest highs to their lowest lows.
Five teams set off from Vancouver on a race across Canada. Without smartphones, internet access or credit cards, they will need plenty of ingenuity to make it to the finish line in Newfoundland.
The race to St John’s continues as the five teams leave Haida Gwaii and head into the heart of the Yukon towards the second checkpoint, the former gold rush boom town Dawson City.
The five pairs leave Dawson City and head south to the third checkpoint, the Rocky Mountain resort town of Banff. This time, the team arriving in last place will be eliminated from the race.
The teams head for the fourth checkpoint, the remote outpost of Churchill, on Hudson Bay. The only transport is a twice-weekly train, and they have just three days to catch it.
The teams head for Lake Huron, a 3,000-kilometre journey, but the pairs only have one way out of Churchill – a noisy overnight train south.
In the sixth leg of the race, the pairs must brush up on their language skills, as the next stop is in Quebec. To get there, the teams must navigate Canada’s most densely inhabited region.
41 days since the start on Canada's Pacific coast, the teams now have the Atlantic within their reach, lapping the shores of the seventh checkpoint at the seaside town of Liverpool, Nova Scotia.
The third series of Race Across the World reaches its epic climax as the pairs complete their gruelling journey across Canada. Which team will triumph?
With a thrilling third series of the Bafta-winning adventure, Race Across the World, now over, our five pairs return to reflect on the adventure of a lifetime.
In a frenetic race across the world, travellers can choose any route they like - but no flights or phones are allowed. On the trip of a lifetime, which pair will finish first?
The race to Lombok is well underway and less than five hours separate the teams. Leaving Nara City, they must cross their first border into South Korea to reach the second checkpoint in Sokcho.
The teams enter south east Asia, starting the third leg from Vietnamese capital Hanoi. They must race over 2,000km through Vietnam and into the Kingdom of Cambodia to reach Phnom Penh.
The teams are starting from the third checkpoint in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and must travel 1,400 kilometres through Thailand, one of the most visited countries in the world.
The teams must navigate the full length of Thailand to reach the next checkpoint - Koh Phi Phi - an archipelago of islands immortalised by the Hollywood blockbuster movie The Beach.
After the tranquillity of the islands of Koh Phi Phi, the teams now face a giant leap into the unknown, leaving Thailand behind to embark on a 2,000km journey to the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
The teams must travel through the populous Indonesian island of Sumatra, where they will endure an ad-hoc transport system, limited accommodation options and virtually zero English spoken.
Twelve minutes is all that separates the first two teams as they embark on the final leg of their Race Across the World from Jakarta to Lombok.
The five intrepid teams reunite in London to look back at their 51-day thrilling adventure through some of the most beautiful, populous and remote places on the planet.
