This third run is set entirely in Canada… and not everyone has been happy about it (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert)
It’s been three long years, but Race Across The World (RATW) is finally back – though this time, international borders are off the agenda.
While season one of the BBC hit-show tasked contestants with getting from London to Singapore, and season two led them from Mexico to the bottom of Argentina, this third run is set entirely in Canada… and not everyone has been happy about it.
For the uninitiated, RATW is a word-of-mouth smash in which pairs of Brits travel thousands of kilometres with no phones, no planes and a very limited budget. While it may not feel like it dominates pop culture in the same way as, say, Strictly Come Dancing or The Great British Bake Off, the millions of us who watch it are totally, totally obsessed.
It’s thrilling, it’s funny, it’s got buckets of heart and it’ll make you desperate to get off this miserable island and explore the planet. If you’ve never seen it, watch it. I promise you’ll love it.
This season, the contenders are making their way from Vancouver to St John’s – and when the news was first announced, it drew disappointed sighs from some, claiming it’s a far cry from the vast globetrotting of before.
Brothers Marc and Michael applied to the show in the hopes that it would better their relationship (Picture: BBC)
‘Race Across Canada more like,’ complained one tweeter, alongside a frustrated emoji; while another wrote: ‘it kind of sucks they’re only going to be travelling across Canada. Part of what I loved about Race Across The World was seeing all the different countries.’
‘One of my favourite shows, though I take issue with calling it Race Across the World this year when they’re only going across Canada,’ said a third.
Well, look. The fact that season one was able to start in Greenwich and finish in Southeast Asia certainly was exciting; as was the mammoth trek from Mexico City to Ushuaia – the southernmost city on the globe.
But after just one episode of the new series, it’s clear that any fears over it being a big let-down are massively unnecessary.
Canada is truly an underrated great, with its breath-taking beauty, varying scenery, incredible wildlife, friendly people, and its sheer size.
It’s the second-largest country in the world (if you include its waters), and judging by narrator John Hannah’s introductory monologue, at 16,000km this route is only marginally shorter than season one’s (around 19,000km) and season two’s (25,000km).
Besides, even if bosses did want to try a new international path, the world looks very different now compared to three years ago; new and ongoing political unrest, varying levels of Covid-19 restrictions, and the horrors of all-out war are all at play.
And while there’s so much discourse around people being displaced by conflict and having difficulty moving from country to country, might there perhaps be something a bit crass about groups of Brits and their camera crews effortlessly border-hopping for the sake of entertainment?
I suppose it would depend on the location, but it must surely be a consideration.
There are already signs that we’ll fall in love with father and daughter Ladi and Monique (Picture: BBC)
Nevertheless, this format is so good that I’d probably watch any route whatsoever. I’d watch them going from Manchester to Hull, if the casting was right.
And in this case, once again, the casting is spot-on.
The way the relationship between distanced father and son Darron and Alex evolved over the course of the first series was beautiful, and I can already sense we’ll be in for a similarly rewarding arc with brothers Marc and Michael in 2023, who applied to the show in the hopes that it would better their relationship.
The mother and son dynamic of Jo and Sam was so endearing in series two that they probably would have won a public vote by a landslide; and there are already signs that we’ll fall similarly in love with father and daughter Ladi and Monique this time around (‘Why are we washing a bus? Dad’s just working for the s***s and gigs!’).
I’m also fully prepared to take a bullet for Cathie and Tricia, best friends who want to have a ‘bonkers’ adventure while proving that Tricia is more than her sight loss.
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The beauty of Race Across The World has always been how they go on two separate journeys: a literal one, and a classic reality TV one. I expect, as usual, this season will deliver on both counts.
Only one episode into the series, people who doubted it are already reconsidering (‘I was scoffing at this season being only in Canada but its natural landscape is STUNNING!’, said one tweet); and many are itching to cross the Atlantic and explore it for themselves.
‘Perfect family viewing. And Canada is top of our family adventure bucket list,’ wrote one viewer. ‘We’re all booking holidays to Canada right? Christ what a beautiful country,’ said another.
I’ll race you there.
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After just one episode of the new series, it’s clear that any fears over it being a big let-down are massively unnecessary.