Every so often a reality show comes along that turns travel into a sport — and Race Across the World is exactly that. The BBC’s no-flights race pairs ordinary people with a limited budget and a distant finish line; Series 6 wrapped in May 2026 with childhood best friends Jo Diop and Kush Burman taking the £20,000 prize, and this guide separates what’s confirmed from what’s still up in the air.
Number of series: 6 (as of 2026) ·
Latest winners: Jo Diop and Kush Burman ·
Network: BBC One ·
Format: No flights, limited budget ·
First series aired: 2019 ·
Series 6 prize: £20,000
Quick snapshot
- Jo Diop and Kush Burman, childhood best friends from Liverpool, won Series 6 by three hours and banked £20,000 (BBC News (winner report))
- Puja and Roshni started Series 6 as one of five teams but are absent from the BBC’s final-four report (BBC News live (finale coverage))
- Series 6 premiered 2 April 2026; the finale aired 21 May 2026 at 8pm (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office))
- The BBC’s latest official pages cover Series 6; no Series 7 announcement has been made (BBC Media Centre (team announcement))
Ten facts, one pattern: the BBC has turned the race into a reliable near-annual event, and the celebrity format now runs alongside the main series rather than after it.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| First aired | 2019 (Wikipedia (series overview)) |
| Number of series | 6 — as of 2026 (BBC Media Centre) |
| Winner, Series 5 | Caroline and Tom Bridge (Wikipedia) |
| Winner, Series 6 | Jo Diop and Kush Burman (BBC News) |
| Series 6 premiere | 2 April 2026 (BBC Media Centre) |
| Series 6 finale | 21 May 2026, 8pm (BBC Media Centre (finale announcement)) |
| Series 6 prize | £20,000 (BBC News) |
| Series 6 route | Palermo, Sicily → Hatgal, Mongolia — 12,000+ km (BBC Media Centre) |
| Celebrity version | Yes (Wikipedia) |
| Series 2 start date | 8 March 2020 (Wikipedia) |
What is Race Across the World?
Race Across the World is the BBC’s reality competition built around a single rule: teams cross continents without flying and on a limited budget. It has aired six series since 2019, according to the series’ Wikipedia overview (Wikipedia (series overview)). Each one turns train timetables, border crossings and currency exchange into high-stakes decisions. Knowing how the format works makes the wins and losses far easier to enjoy.
What is the format?
- Pairs of contestants race overland from a fixed start point to a distant finish line (Wikipedia (series overview))
- Flights are banned — teams travel by train, bus, boat and on foot (Wikipedia (series overview))
- Each pair manages a limited budget and chooses its own route and spending priorities (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office))
The structure rewards judgment over speed. A team that spends heavily on one comfortable night can find itself short for a long border crossing; a team that gambles on a cheap route can end up stranded. The result is a travel show that behaves like a strategy game, with the BBC’s cameras capturing the friction in real time.
The prize structure sharpens the stakes: in Series 6, the winners took £20,000 after thousands of kilometres of unglamorous travel (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office)).
Who can take part?
- Contestants are members of the public who apply in pairs that already know each other (Wikipedia (series overview))
- Series 6’s five teams included childhood best friends Jo Diop and Kush Burman from Liverpool (BBC News (winner report))
- A separate celebrity version pairs famous contestants in the same no-flights format (Wikipedia (series overview))
The “pairs who already know each other” rule is the quiet engine of the show. Because there is no manufactured drama, the tension comes from real relationships being tested by missed buses, tired arguments and expensive mistakes.
Who won Race Across the World season 5?
Series 5 ran across Asia in 2025, and its ending became the franchise’s warmest victory yet.
Who were the winners?
- Caroline and Tom Bridge won Series 5, according to the series’ Wikipedia record (Wikipedia (series overview))
- The route covered more than 14,000 km across Asia, from Huanghuacheng in China to Kanyakumari in India (Wikipedia (series overview))
- Their shared story — a mother-and-son team over 14,000 km — was the emotional spine of the season
Caroline and Tom Bridge won the fifth series, according to the series’ Wikipedia record (Wikipedia (series overview)). Their win stood out for the relationship at its centre: a mother-and-son pairing who kept their heads while teams around them made costlier calls. The show has always been as much about people as points, and this ending underlined it.
When were they crowned?
Series 5 start: 23 April 2025 ·
Distance: 14,000+ km ·
Finale: June 2025
Series 5 began on 23 April 2025, and the finale aired in June 2025, according to Wikipedia (Wikipedia (series overview)). The exact day is where records diverge: Wikipedia lists 18 June, while some coverage points to 12 June for the result being confirmed. For practical purposes, “June 2025” is the safe detail — and the discrepancy is a useful reminder that even official-looking dates need double-checking.
The trade-off: a win this warm raises the emotional bar for every series that follows.
When will Race Across the World season 6 air?
Has season 6 been announced?
Premiere: 2 April 2026 ·
Finale: 21 May 2026, 8pm ·
Run: Seven weeks
Yes — and by now it’s also over. The BBC announced Series 6 with its launch, premiering on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 2 April 2026 (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office)). The finale aired at 8pm on 21 May 2026 (BBC Media Centre (finale announcement)).
For anyone who missed that window, “when will it air?” now has only one honest answer: it already has.
What can viewers expect?
- Five teams started the race: Jo and Kush, Katie and Harrison, Molly and Andrew, Puja and Roshni, Mark and Margo (BBC Media Centre (team announcement))
- The journey covered more than 12,000 km across Europe and Asia (BBC Media Centre (team announcement))
- The route ran from Palermo, Sicily, to Hatgal, Mongolia — through Italy, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan (BBC News live (finale coverage))
- The winning pair took £20,000 (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office))
Jo Diop and Kush Burman — childhood best friends from Liverpool — reached the finish line first and won the series by three hours (BBC News (winner report)). Molly and Andrew finished second, Katie and Harrison third, Mark and Margo fourth, per the BBC’s live finale report (BBC News live (finale coverage)).
Puja and Roshni started the race as one of five official teams, yet the BBC’s live finale report never places them in the final four. Their ending is a gap in the official record.
What this means: the 2026 edition delivered a close finish, a memorable route and a likeable winner — and the loudest question left is when the race returns.
Is there a celebrity version of Race Across the World?
Yes — and it has grown into a franchise of its own. The celebrity spin-off keeps the main show’s rules and swaps in famous faces.
What is Celebrity Race Across the World?
- A celebrity version exists, following the same no-flights format, according to Wikipedia (Wikipedia (series overview))
- Famous contestants face the same limited-budget rules as civilian teams (Wikipedia (series overview))
- Search interest in “Celebrity Race Across the World Season 5” shows the spin-off now has its own fans tracking it season by season
The logistics are identical: no flights, a finite budget, and a finish line that moves each year. The difference is the cast — people used to a very different travel experience now have to make the same hard calls as everyone else, which is exactly the discomfort the format is built around.
Who has taken part?
The celebrity format widens the audience, but the constraint is identical: no flights, tight budget, unfamiliar territory. Fame doesn’t buy a shortcut.
The BBC’s official pages do not publish a single running roster of celebrity alumni, but the search pattern tells its own story: “Celebrity Race Across the World Season 5” is already a common query, which suggests the spin-off has built the same season-by-season loyalty as the main show.
The catch: a celebrity edition can never fully match the discovery of the original — but it proves the format is bigger than any single cast.
Where can I watch Race Across the World?
If you are in the UK, this is straightforward. If you are not, the official answer gets thinner.
On which streaming services?
- BBC One is the broadcast home in the UK, with episodes on BBC iPlayer after airing (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office))
- The BBC confirmed the Series 6 launch on both BBC One and iPlayer (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office))
- Outside the UK, the BBC’s official materials do not list a single international streaming partner
For UK viewers, the decision is simple: BBC One when it airs, iPlayer when it doesn’t. The BBC’s Series 6 announcement is explicit about both routes, and iPlayer has become the default way to catch up mid-season (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office)).
Are episodes available on BBC iPlayer?
In the UK, iPlayer is the route the BBC itself points viewers toward — the official announcement listed iPlayer alongside BBC One for the premiere.
Yes — BBC iPlayer is the on-demand home of the series for UK viewers (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office)). The BBC’s announcement named iPlayer alongside BBC One for the Series 6 premiere, which makes it the most reliable way to catch the current run.
Outside the UK, availability is patchier: the show has also turned up on platforms such as Apple TV in some markets, but the BBC does not publish an international distribution list. The implication is that for most readers the answer is BBC One plus iPlayer, while for everyone else it remains a local question the BBC’s own pages leave unanswered.
Timeline signal
The franchise has moved in clear cycles — a new series roughly every year or two since the 2019 debut — and, according to the series’ Wikipedia record, the dates line up like this:
- — Series 1 premieres (Wikipedia (series overview))
- — Series 2 premieres on BBC One (Wikipedia (series overview))
- — Series 5 finale: Caroline and Tom Bridge win (Wikipedia (series overview))
- — Series 6 premieres on BBC One and BBC iPlayer (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office))
- — Series 6 finale: Jo and Kush win by three hours (BBC News (winner report))
The pattern: the gaps between series have varied — a longer break in the early 2020s and again between 2023 and 2025 — but the overall rhythm is close to annual, which makes the silence around Series 7 more telling than it would be for an irregular show.
What’s confirmed and what’s unclear
After going through the BBC’s official announcements and the series’ Wikipedia record, here is where the record stands.
Confirmed facts
- Jo Diop and Kush Burman won Series 6, finishing three hours ahead of any other team and taking the £20,000 prize (BBC News (winner report))
- The Series 6 route ran from Palermo, Italy, to Hatgal, Mongolia — more than 12,000 km without a single flight (BBC Media Centre (team announcement))
- Caroline and Tom Bridge won Series 5 in June 2025 (Wikipedia (series overview))
What’s unclear
- Puja and Roshni’s final position in Series 6 — they started with the other four teams but are missing from the BBC’s live final-four report (BBC News live (finale coverage))
- Whether Series 7 will happen — the BBC has made no renewal announcement (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office))
- The exact date of the Series 5 result — Wikipedia lists the finale as 18 June 2025, while other records point to 12 June (Wikipedia (series overview))
The split is instructive: the BBC’s own materials confirm the big structural facts, but the finishing details — one team’s final ranking, one exact date, one renewal decision — remain the softest parts of the record.
What the coverage says
Across the BBC’s own pages, three details keep coming up: the closeness of the finish, the size of the route, and the gaps in the final ranking.
Jo and Kush, childhood best friends from Liverpool, reached the finish line first and took the £20,000 prize by a margin of three hours.
BBC News (winner report)
Five teams, no flights, more than 12,000 kilometres across Europe and Asia — from Sicily to Mongolia — in a single unbroken overland race.
BBC Media Centre (team announcement)
Molly and Andrew took second, Katie and Harrison third, Mark and Margo fourth — and Puja and Roshni, part of the original five, were absent from the BBC’s final-four ranking.
BBC News live (finale coverage)
Why this matters: in a show about real stakes, the exact wording of “who finished where” is the difference between a trivia answer and a verified result — and the BBC’s own coverage leaves one of those details open.
The takeaway
Race Across the World doesn’t need a format change; it needs a new route and a confirmed return date. Series 6 delivered the first and left the second hanging. The confirmed facts — Jo and Kush’s three-hour win, the £20,000 prize, the 12,000 km thread from Palermo to Hatgal — are locked in, while the open questions around Puja and Roshni’s ending and the show’s future keep the fan conversation going. Related reading: The Paper TV Show: Cast, Watch, Season 2 Status (2025 Guide) · Untamed (Miniseries) Review: Is It Worth Watching on Netflix. For BBC commissioners, the choice is clear: renew a series that just produced its closest, most talked-about finish, or hand the no-flights idea to a rival willing to run with it.
Frequently asked questions
How many episodes are in each season of Race Across the World?
Series 6 ran for seven weeks: it premiered on 2 April 2026 and ended with the finale on 21 May 2026 (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office)). Episode counts are set per series and are not published as one fixed number — iPlayer carries the full episode list for the most recent run.
What is the budget given to each team?
The exact cash figure per team has not been published in the BBC’s official Series 6 materials. What is confirmed is the format: a limited budget, no flights, and a £20,000 prize for the winning pair (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office)).
Are contestants allowed to use smartphones or maps?
The BBC’s press materials confirm the two headline rules — no flights and a limited budget — but they do not publish the detailed phone-and-map rulebook (BBC Media Centre (BBC’s press office)).
How are the teams selected?
Teams are pairs with an existing bond. Series 6’s five pairs included childhood best friends Jo Diop and Kush Burman from Liverpool (BBC News (winner report)), and the BBC’s team pages profile each pair individually (BBC Media Centre (team announcement)). The celebrity edition applies the same pairing logic to well-known names (Wikipedia (series overview)).
Has Race Across the World been cancelled or renewed?
Neither, officially. The BBC has not announced a Series 7 renewal, and it has not announced a cancellation either. The latest official BBC pages cover Series 6, which wrapped on 21 May 2026 (BBC Media Centre (finale announcement)).
Where is the show filmed?
The show films real overland routes. Series 6 started in Palermo, Italy, and ended in Hatgal, Mongolia, passing through Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan (BBC News live (finale coverage)). Series 5 crossed Asia from Huanghuacheng, China, to Kanyakumari, India, according to Wikipedia (Wikipedia (series overview)).
What is the age range of contestants?
Contestants are adults, and the age range shifts from series to series. The BBC’s Series 6 team pages profile the five starting pairs in detail (BBC Media Centre (team announcement)); the casting constant is the relationship between teammates, not an age bracket.
The pattern behind these questions: the details viewers care about most are exactly the ones the BBC’s official pages leave open — renewal, budget and the full finishing order.