Celebrity Race Across the World returns on Wednesday 28 October at 8 pm. Princess Andre, Sam Ryder, Ella Eyre and Jeff Stelling race 7,500km from Borneo to Melbourne on £26 a day, with no flights and no phones.
The BBC has confirmed that the fourth series of Celebrity Race Across the World begins on Wednesday 28 October at 8 pm on BBC One, with four celebrity pairs racing 7,500km from Borneo to Melbourne.
It is the first time the format has reached Australia, and the first time it has started in rainforest.
Princess Andre travels with her brother Junior. Jeff Stelling, who presented Soccer Saturday for 25 years, goes with his son Matt. The singer Ella Eyre is paired with her childhood friend Nana, and Sam Ryder with his best friend and tour manager Kaz.
Jasmyn McGuile, Commissioning Editor for BBC Factual Entertainment and Events, said in the BBC’s announcement: “Audiences have been asking when the Race might reach Australia, so we are delighted that they will be able to experience this unique journey for the first time in Celebrity Race Across the World. With an adventurous start in Borneo’s Sarawak rainforest, another series first, it makes for an unmissable opener.”
Who is on Celebrity Race Across the World 2026?
Four pairs: Princess Andre and her brother Junior, Jeff Stelling and his son Matt, Ella Eyre and her childhood friend Nana, and Sam Ryder with his tour manager Kaz.
- Princess Andre with her brother Junior Influencer. Junior is a musician. Both are children of Katie Price and Peter Andre.
- Jeff Stelling with his son Matt Veteran sports broadcaster, 25 years presenting Soccer Saturday.
- Ella Eyre with her childhood friend Nana Brit Award-winning singer-songwriter.
- Sam Ryder with his best friend and tour manager Kaz Singer, songwriter and musician.
The pairings are the point of the format. Race Across the World has always been about what a long journey does to a relationship, and putting two Andre siblings in the same situation as a father and son in his seventies is a deliberate contrast.
When does Celebrity Race Across the World start?
Wednesday 28 October 2026 at 8 pm on BBC One, with every episode on BBC iPlayer afterwards.
The BBC describes it as a 6×60′ series, meaning six episodes of around an hour each.
A trailer was released alongside the launch date.
Celebrity Race Across the World 2026 episode schedule
Six episodes, weekly on BBC One.
| Ep | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wednesday 28 OctoberWed 28 Oct | Confirmed |
| 2 | Wednesday 4 NovemberWed 4 Nov | Expected |
| 3 | Wednesday 11 NovemberWed 11 Nov | Expected |
| 4 | Wednesday 18 NovemberWed 18 Nov | Expected |
| 5 | Wednesday 25 NovemberWed 25 Nov | Expected |
| 6 | Wednesday 2 DecemberWed 2 Dec | Final, expected |
Only the 28 October launch is confirmed by the BBC. The remaining dates assume the weekly pattern the show has always kept, which in 2025 ran six episodes across consecutive weeks from 6 November to 11 December. This page is updated as the BBC confirms each date.
Where does Celebrity Race Across the World 2026 go?
From Kuching in Sarawak, North West Borneo, to Melbourne. The route covers 7,500km and five checkpoints across three countries and two continents.
The teams cross prehistoric jungle and the heartlands of Borneo before working south, finishing at the southern tip of Australia and the line in Melbourne.
Both ends of that route are new ground. The Race has never reached Australia in any version, celebrity or civilian, and it has never started in rainforest.
Starting in Sarawak matters more than it sounds. It puts the teams into dense jungle and island transport from the first morning, in a part of the world where the overland options run out quickly and the sea crossings are not optional.
What are the rules of Race Across the World?
No flights, no smartphones and no credit cards. Teams travel by local transport with a paper map and a cash budget.
The no-flying rule is the whole premise. It is what turns a journey anyone could book online into a problem that has to be solved on the ground, in ferry terminals and bus stations, in languages the teams mostly do not speak.
The BBC’s own description adds a third resource alongside the map and the local transport: “the kindness of strangers”.
How much money do the teams get?
£26 per person per day. That is the whole budget, covering transport, food and anywhere they sleep.
Some coverage has reported the figure as £26 per team. The BBC’s own announcement is specific: “a budget of just £26 per person a day”.
The budget in this format is traditionally set at roughly the cost of the airfare the teams are not allowed to take, spread across the whole journey. It is meant to be uncomfortable.
Where can I watch Celebrity Race Across the World?
BBC One from 8 pm on 28 October, and on BBC iPlayer after each episode airs.
You need a TV licence to watch live or on iPlayer. There is no subscription on top of that.
The three previous celebrity series and the civilian version are also on iPlayer.
Who has won Celebrity Race Across the World before?
Alex and Noel Beresford won in 2023, Scott Mills and Sam Vaughan in 2024, and Roman and Harleymoon Kemp in 2025.
| Series | Winners | Route |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Alex and Noel Beresford | Marrakesh to Tromsø |
| 2024 | Scott Mills and Sam Vaughan | Belém, Brazil to Frutillar, Chile |
| 2025 | Roman and Harleymoon Kemp | Mexico to Colombia |
There is a pattern in that list worth noticing before this series starts.
Every winning pair so far has been family or a spouse. A father and son, a husband, a brother and sister. No friendship or working relationship has won it.
This year’s four teams split evenly along that line. Jeff and Matt Stelling are the father and son. Princess and Junior Andre are the siblings. Ella Eyre travels with a childhood friend and Sam Ryder with the man who runs his tours.
Three series is a small sample and the show is not a science. But if the format rewards the pairs who can argue in a bus station at midnight and still be speaking the next morning, the two family teams start with something the other two have to build.
Is this the same as the normal Race Across the World?
No. The celebrity version is a separate, shorter series. The civilian Race Across the World returns to BBC One next spring.
The format is identical: same no-flying rule, same cash budget, same race to a finish line. The difference is who is doing it, and that celebrity series run to six episodes.
Studio Lambert makes both, and also makes The Celebrity Traitors. The format is BAFTA-winning.
Your questions
When does Celebrity Race Across the World start?
Wednesday 28 October 2026 at 8 pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Who is in the 2026 line-up?
Princess Andre with her brother Junior, Jeff Stelling with his son Matt, Ella Eyre with her friend Nana, and Sam Ryder with his tour manager Kaz.
Where does the route go?
Kuching in Sarawak, Borneo, to Melbourne. 7,500km and five checkpoints across three countries and two continents.
How many episodes are there?
Six, each around an hour. The BBC describes it as a 6×60′ series.
Can the teams fly?
No. No flights, no smartphones and no credit cards. Local transport and a paper map only.
How much money do they have?
£26 per person per day, covering transport, food and accommodation.
Where can I watch it?
BBC One, and on BBC iPlayer after broadcast. A TV licence is required.
Who won the last series?
Roman and Harleymoon Kemp, in 2025, racing from Mexico to Colombia.
When is the normal Race Across the World back?
Next spring, on BBC One and iPlayer.