Celebrity Race Across the World (Series Three) BBC One – meet the teams taking part in this year’s epic race from the Caribbean to Colombia

Anita and Bal

Q: Why did you want to take part in Celebrity Race Across the World (Series Three)?

Bal: It’s the only time I’m going to get to spend time with my daughter. I haven’t had a holiday with her since she was born. It’s an opportunity I’ll never get again.

Anita: I want my dad to have an adventure, and I want to have it with him. So that’s it. What a great, amazing way to spend some quality time with my dad and have a life-changing experience.

Q: What’s the one reason that you chose to take part in this trip with your dad?

Anita: We get on, he makes me laugh, and if I ever want help in making a decision, Dad’s the person I call. Also, I want Dad to have the experience. It’s about my dad having an adventure—he’s never had one before.

Q: Would you say that you’re both quite adventurous?

Bal: We’re both adventurous. We’re like-minded, and we like a challenge as well.

Anita: We’re both go-getters.

Q: What kind of travellers are you usually?

Anita: We’re curious and open-minded. We’re definitely not beach bums – we want to have an adventure.

Bal: We like to get to know the local community and find out how they live and earn a living. I’m always really curious to learn about the locals in the area I’m visiting.

Q: What are the top three home comforts that you think you will miss whilst you’re away?

Anita: We’ll miss a curry. 100% we will miss my mum’s cooking.

Q: What does the rest of your family make of you two doing this?

Anita: I think they are just as excited as we are. I think everyone’s very excited that I’m taking my dad. My brother and my mum are just really thrilled. And I can’t wait for my niece, my dad’s granddaughter, to see him on the telly. She’s six, my goodness, she is my dad’s best mate. It used to be me. It’s really going to inspire her. Imagine seeing your granddad do something like that.

Q: What will be the most surprising things viewers will learn about you?

Anita: I think all of it is going to be quite surprising. I think, even though I’ve been on TV for such a long time, people really don’t know much about me. So I think people will see a whole new side of me for the very first time.

Q: Are there any particular stories that stick out from times you might have travelled together before?

Anita: The last time we travelled together, I was two, and Dad hired a motorbike in India, sat me on the petrol tank, and my mum was on the back with my baby brother. That was a long time ago—45 years.

Q: How competitive are you both? Are you in it to win it?

Bal: We’re competitive, but we’re not ruthless. We’d still like to win as father and daughter, but not at the expense of deliberately making other people lose. We’re not those sorts of people.

Anita: I think we’re competitive, but I think we’re just really keen to have an amazing experience and give it our best shot.

Q: What do you imagine your biggest challenges are going to be on the trip?

Bal: I said to myself, stamina, because of my age, and maybe sitting on a bus for a long time.

Anita: Possibly a bit of boredom, making sure we keep our minds occupied. We’re taking a travel chess set.

Dylan and Jackie

Q: Why did you want to take part in Celebrity Race Across the World (Series Three)?

Dylan: I wanted to take part because it’s such an amazing experience. I think it looks so beautiful and cool, and it’s just a giant adventure—who wouldn’t want to go on one of those? And to do it with my mum is a huge bonus. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing to do, and to do it with a loved one is even better.

Jackie: In my life, I’m very predictable, like to keep to a routine, safe and everything, and this is really pushing me out of my comfort zone, and I feel, at my age, I should do something like that. I just generally go to destinations for a holiday; I never have a journey. So it’s giving my holiday experience a different spin. And also to spend time with Dylan. There are normally so many distractions in life. I don’t think anyone has a relationship where there are no distractions and it’s just one-to-one, and that’s going to be magical.

Q: Why did you decide to take your mum?

Dylan: She’s just so easygoing, and I think she’s just an amazing travel companion. We get on so well and we’re so close, so I think she was the best candidate for the job.

Q: Would you say that you’re both adventurous?

Jackie: Not really!

Dylan: Not naturally, but I think we want to be.

Jackie: I do throw myself into things, perhaps a bit more than Dylan would. Dylan’s a bit more cautious.

Dylan: I think I would, if I’ve got people around to encourage me. But if I were on my own, I’d play it safe.

Q: Are there any stories that stick out from times you’ve travelled together before?

Jackie: When he was a little boy with his brothers in Cornwall, I used to catch them with little water guns, squirting people. Once, they had a ten-pound note on a fishing line, which they would put out, and someone thought they were going to get it, before they then whisked it up—very naughty.

Dylan: Sometimes they actually did grab it and keep it, and we were like, ‘Oh, can we have it back?!’ 

Q: If there’s one thing you hope this race will change about you or your relationship, what would it be? 

Jackie: When Dylan’s working, we don’t speak to each other that much, so this will be nice to bring us closer together. And not have to do voice notes all the time—sometimes it’s nice to talk to each other.

Dylan: I think it’ll bring us closer together and help us adjust to the new surroundings without those comforts. It’s the first time I’m spending a long, long period with my mum, which will be nice. 

Q: How do you feel about travelling without your mobile phone or your credit cards?

Dylan: It’s scary, but it will be scary exciting as well because it’s so different. I think it will bring us closer because it will force us to talk and embrace the cultures and surroundings.

Jackie: I’m not too worried about not having my phone. Not having credit cards will be a pain because it’s so easy. I’ll have to use my brain more. 

Q: What’s it like having a famous son?

Jackie: I feel very, very proud. When I see him on the telly, I can’t believe that it’s Dylan, because he struggled so much at school. So to see him now, and how he’s not affected by being famous, he’s very genuine and nice, and I think that’s really important and lovely.

Q: Tell us a secret about your famous son that might surprise viewers or their fans. 

Jackie: I know that he’s quite quirky. He likes cups of tea all the time. He doesn’t really drink alcohol; he’s never really been a party animal. 

Tyler and Molly

Q: Why did you want to take part in Celebrity Race Across the World (Series Three)?

Molly: We haven’t done any kind of travelling like this before. We always stick to our comfort zone: all-inclusive, just one location. This will be a new experience.

Tyler: It feels like we’ve been together years and years, but to do something like this will take our relationship to the next level and bring us closer together.

Q: Why did you decide to do it together?

Molly: I think it was just a no-brainer to do it together – we’re so comfortable with each other, we already live together, so we know we can do that. We have nothing to hide from each other.

Tyler: We live busy lives. We’re sometimes passing ships, and while I would love to experience this with my best friend, I think I would struggle more doing it without Molly. 

Q: Would you say that you’re both quite adventurous?

Molly: I feel like we are, but we are within our means.

Q: Name the top three home comforts you’ll struggle to live without?

Tyler: Biscuits. Biscoff biscuits.

Molly: My phone, of course. 

Tyler: My air fryer, Biscoff biscuits and phone.

Q: Has celebrity impacted the way that you travel?

Tyler: It has and it hasn’t. We prefer to go to places where you can properly relax, rather than having to be switched on all the time, but we love meeting and chatting to people, so we’re easy!

Molly: Rather than super touristy locations where you’ve got so many sites to visit, we usually just want to switch off and be horizontal.

Q: What will be your biggest challenges during this trip? 

Tyler: I think it’s not being in control, not knowing where you’re going to stay, how you’re going to get there, or what the correct decision is to make. I think the decision-making is going to be hard. I think the thing that I will find the easiest is being able to make light of a situation, just have a laugh along the way. No matter how stressful life can get, you can always put a smile on your face and laugh.

Molly: It’s the unknown. That will be the biggest challenge.

Q: What roles do you think you’ll take in this race?

Tyler: We will share the roles. Even though we’ve got our strengths, like being able to talk to anyone.

Molly: I can take a bit more time to warm up… 

Tyler: Molly is amazing at directions and leading in that way. It’s a nice balance. I’ll protect the passports at all costs, but I’m hoping that we will mix it up and it’ll help us develop as individuals and together.

Molly: I need to be better at decision-making, so I know Tyler will definitely push me.

Tyler: I need to chill out and not be in planning mode.

Q: Have you watched previous series and picked up any tips?

Molly: One thing that really stood out to us, that I keep thinking about, is when in a previous series, Alex got to a bus station and he hadn’t changed the time on his watch, so he thought the bus had already gone, but it was actually on time, and he got a later bus because of it. We need to remember that we’re going through multiple places, and there could be different time zones in those places; that’s one thing that’s really stood out.

Roman and Harleymoon

Q: Why did you want to take part in Celebrity Race Across the World (Series Three)?

Roman: It’s very much 50/50 on the reasons for wanting to do this. I am very lucky to do a lot of things with my dad, and I think that’s why I do them: I can’t wait to show my kids or my grandkids what my relationship with my dad was like. With this, it’s such a privilege to do something so special with your sister.

It’s such a privilege to have that, to show it to future generations, and to share an experience. The other side of it is personal: travelling and seeing new places, different cultures, and having certain experiences has a great impact on my perspective and what life is about.

Harleymoon: I already love travelling, so this is very much in my wheelhouse. Turning up, don’t know where I’m going, that’s got my name all over it. I love adventure. I love excitement. I don’t like routine. I’m so looking forward to it. But one of the main things for me was just being able to spend that time with Roman. We haven’t lived together since we were 15. So, we obviously love each other, brother and sister, but we don’t hang out just the two of us.

We don’t get time. Roman’s got a busy schedule, I’ve got a busy schedule. I think sometimes when you are in that family dynamic, you meet up to drop the dogs off or pick up house keys, and that becomes your dynamic. So being able to have a month when it’s just me and him… I feel like I’m about to meet Roman again as a person, and I look forward to that so much. I really don’t know what it’s going to be like. I knew what our relationship was like when we were kids and lived together, but I look forward to meeting Roman again as a friend—that’s what I want out of this trip.

Q: Would you say you’re both quite adventurous?

Roman: Yes, but weirdly, in different ways. My type of adventure is curiosity and challenge. For instance, I love adventure, whether it’s climbing a mountain or seeing how someone lives their life in a tough area. Mine comes out of curiosity in that sense. I am definitely adventurous in the sense that I want to see and experience as much as I can. 

Harleymoon: My goal is just to have fun every day.

Q: Roman, can you name the most annoying habit you might struggle with with Harley? Harley, is there an irritating habit of Roman’s you might struggle with? 

Roman: Snoring.

Harleymoon: Lateness or being asleep. I’ve been to Roman’s birthday family dinner before, where he’s turned up and we’ve finished. I am a really bad snorer, but I bought him earplugs.

Roman: Helen of Troy was the face that sailed 1000 ships, or whatever. Harley was the snore that sent them the other way.

Q: What do you hope this race will change about your relationship?

Roman: I think my thing is just learning how to have fun, which I don’t feel like I do enough of in my life. I feel like my life is based around work and Arsenal, and they are very emotionally taxing, so I forget how to just enjoy life. I’m jealous of Harley in that sense, because she has that outlook on finding the fun. 

Q: What would be your dream destination to race through?

Harleymoon: Somewhere hot, the beach.

Roman: I told Harley I found out where we were going. I haven’t, but I pretended it was Siberia, and she cried. I honestly don’t know. There are pros and cons to everywhere.

Harleymoon: I would love to just be in an unfamiliar environment. I know I joke about being on the beach, but I think realistically, I want to be thrown into something that I have never seen before. I’m in a different cultural space, I’m trying to work it out, and I’m seeing things for the first time. That, for me, is really what I would find fun, even if it’s muddy and we’re on the back of a chicken van. I just want to have an experience. I’m going to hold on to that memory, even if I don’t like it at the time.