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In the world of reality television, there are formats built for average members of the population to compete in (Britain’s Got Talent, say, or Dragons’ Den). Then there are the shows for famous people (like Strictly or I’m a Celeb). And lastly, there are the hybrids: shows that start life with normie contestants and end up catering to our celebrity overlords. Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Bake-Off, Celebrity Traitors. All have successfully zhuzhed up their lineup with a sprinkle of stardust. But Celebrity Race Across the World is something different: a show that feels inhibited by the injection of recognisable faces. The idea, as the celebrity version arrives at its third series, remains simple: four duos will race across central America, stopping at various cultural or scenic checkpoints. In the process, they will experience life in Latin American homestays, suffer congested transport networks, and get to know each other even better. Roman Kemp (a ubiquitous presence on reality TV shows) is accompanied by his older sister, Harleymoon; Anita Rani brings her dad, Bal, along for the journey; Strictly alumni Molly Rainford and Tyler West test their relationship; and Big Boys actor Dylan Llewellyn gets stuck into the backpacker lifestyle with his mum, Jackie. It’s a decent lineup (understanding that it’s difficult for most celebrities to take five weeks off), with a range of experience. “Doing things that scare you is so important to you as a human being,” notes Kemp. “As much as it scares me,” confirms West, “it excites me.” And so, off they go. Why does Race Across the World work? The show takes ordinary people and forces them into the emotional crucible of low-cost travel. Think of estranged brothers Brian and Melvyn, in the most recent series, bonding on their ramble across China, or the first season’s victors, Elaine and Tony, proving that retirement had not dulled their competitive edge as they rushed to Singapore. Instinctively, it’s hard to feel as though that rawness, that intimacy, would be enhanced by the presence of celebrities. Many of this season’s competitors – Rani, Kemp, West, et al – are experienced broadcasters with enough media training to look good and focus on key talking points. “A lot of me is very anxious,” says Kemp, who has presented a documentary on mental health. “That can get in the way of just enjoying the moment.” Only Llewelyn – who is about as “normal” a celebrity as is imaginable – brings some of the show’s trademark unworldliness. One advantage of the celeb version is that it reverts to a six-leg race (like the first series), rather than the eight-leg race adopted by more recent editions, which has begun to stretch my patience. Central America, too, is a good canvas for the show: more foreign to racers than Canada, geographically trickier than Europe. But ultimately, “the world” is just the backdrop for a journey that is really an emotional one. Realisations and reconciliations take place beside paddy fields and waterfalls, or in bustling metropolises. These moments, here, feel less affecting. Confronted with the idea that she’s a “nepo baby”, 36-year-old Harleymoon (whose dad is Spandau Ballet’s Martin Kemp) reveals that it “drove [her] to be a really hard worker”, which feels slightly less impactful than a 65-year-old driving instructor making a similar revelation. “I feel, at 47, it’s quite nice to lower the frequency a little bit,” Rani claims, while appearing on another primetime BBC show. She says she’s excited to show her retired father these parts of the world; it’s hard not to wonder why they couldn’t just go on holiday. Perhaps I’m being excessively cynical, not least because these celebrities do all muck in and face the overnight coaches, the language barriers, and the political unrest that grips El Salvador and Guatemala. No one is overly prissy, even if they seem to spend more money on food and drink than the regular contestants do. But Race Across the World feels like a format created by the people, for the people. Not everything needs to be adapted for well-travelled, well-heeled celebrities.
