UPDATE: |Race Across the World winners issue expert advice and say new contestants ‘must not be afraid’ News

The new series of Race Across The World is set to air on BBC

Former winners of Race Across the World have revealed what new contestants can expect and issued their personal advice.

Retired PE teachers Tony and Elaine Teasdale, both 68, were the first to cross the finish line on the hit BBC competition show in 2019, bagging £20,000.

Tony and Elaine travelled across 21 countries on a meagre budget of £1,329, and ended up beating eight other contestants to be the first to reach the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore.

The pair spent their winnings on a “gap decade” and have so far travelled to Antarctica, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Patagonia, and New Zealand.

The new series of Race Across The World is set to air on Wednesday, April 23, and will see the couples race to be the first to travel from The Great Wall of China to Kanniyakumari, in the southernmost tip of India.

Tony, from Beadlam, North Yorkshire, said he still gets recognised on the street. He said: “I’m really looking forward to this season. It seems we have been waiting for a long time for this season but I can’t wait and the course looks great.

“We always religiously watch it. We are five to six years down the line and people still approach us. We live in a remote part of North Yorkshire and get people saying ‘where do I know you from?'”

Tony revealed that the key to winning the show was a combination of trust and luck.

Offering advice to this years’ competitors, he said: “I would just not be afraid to take risks and rely on the people you meet. The best thing about the show is that everyone is willing to help others despite what is happening in the world.

“After a few episodes, you can see who may or may not win and which teams are willing to gamble and roll the dice. One of the toughest challenges for us was the language barrier, the course, and the different currency because every penny you spent was relayed back to London.

“The languages are one thing, but people were always willing to help us and offer directions, lifts, and accommodation.”

Tony and Elaine raced from the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich to the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore, ticking off checkpoints in Greece, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, China and Cambodia along the way. The 50-day race spanned 12,000 miles and was the couple’s first retirement adventure after leaving their jobs five years before.

All competitors race to a remote corner of the world but can only travel by land or sea, using a sum of money equivalent to the cost of a one-way flight to their final destination.

Tony recalled: “We had to let our family members know that we would be living off grid for three months. We were told that there was a film crew in Germany. We didn’t know what to pack or where we were going, but they wished us all the luck.

“People are also more into the storylines [compared to 2019], which I think is brilliant. We didn’t have a back story, but it is good that people are now following their stories.”

The new series of Race Across the World will air at 9pm on Wednesday, April 23, available to watch on BBC One and iPlayer.