Race Across the World winners revealed after tense final leg

After four successful main series, and two very popular celebrity editions, BBC show Race Across the World was renewed for a fifth series last year, and now they've dropped the news that a sixth series will land in 2026!

Whilst applications for the sixth series have been extended, series five has been keeping us entertainment for the last few weeks, with the tense final leg airing on Wednesday 11th June. Here's everything you need to know including the locations, the participants, and which pair won the race.

⚠️ WARNING: The below article contains major spoilers ⚠️

Who won Race Across The World?

The final episode of series five saw this year's teams travelling from Panaji in India to the final checkpoint of Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of the country. Although mother-and-son duo Caroline and Tom had a short lead going into the final leg, a hold-up buying bus tickets put their victory in some doubt, but they were able to reach the final checkpoint first.

Sisters Elizabeth and Letitia were determined to catch the leaders to win the race, and despite monumental effort, they ended up signing the book just 19 minutes behind winners Caroline and Tom.

It was also a close call for third place pair, couple Sioned and Fin, who finished just 45 minutes behind the winners.

Brothers Brian and Melvin, who were a huge 7 hours and 48 minutes behind the leaders going into the final leg, did manage to make up some time, but it wasn't enough and the brothers signed the book in fourth place.

1) Caroline and Tom

2) Elizabeth and Letitia (+19m)

3) Sioned and Fin (+45m)

4) Brian and Melvin (+3h 5m)

Speaking after they won, Caroline said to her son: "I felt like such a failure to begin with. We must never doubt ourselves again - ever ever ever... Oh my God!"

Tom replied: "It's a really good feeling. I am lost for words, I can't believe it.

"I never thought we would come this far, I never thought we would achieve so much, and I have never been prouder of my mum. She got me through it."

When was it on TV?

Series five kicked off on Wednesday 23rd April at 9pm.

New episodes aired every Wednesday night at 9pm on BBC One.

Is there a trailer?

The 11-second teaser trailer shows this year's pairs attempting to navigate around, as the words 'Goodbye Comfort Zone' flash across the screens.

What was the route?

The Great Wall of China was the starting point of this year's race. Five teams must navigate three of Asia’s most diverse nations, China, Nepal and India, in a race of over 14,000km to reach the finish line, Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of India.

The teams were without smartphones or bank cards, and armed only with cash equating to the cost of flying the route.

The show was filmed over an eight week stint between October and December 2024.

Who were the contestants?

This year's teams included sisters, Elizabeth and Letitia; former married couple, Yin and Gaz, brothers, Brian and Melvyn; teenage couple, Fin and Sioned and mother and son, Caroline and Tom.

Meet the pairs below:

Which pair made it to the first checkpoint?

The first episode saw this year's teams meet each other at the start point, the Great Wall of China, sizing out the competition before the race began. Once the greetings were out of the way, the teams set off on their first venture, attempting to get to the first checkpoint 2000km away in Huangling, in the Jiangxi Province.

It was sisters Elizabeth and Letitia who signed the book first, with teenage couple Sioned and Fin arriving at the checkpoint second, 2 hours and 59 minutes later. Former couple Yin and Gaz then signed the book third, with brothers Brian and Melvin arriving in fourth. Episode one finished without mother and son duo Caroline and Tom arriving at the first checkpoint, with episode two showing they arrived a huge 25 hours and 38 minutes after Elizabeth and Letitia.

1) Elizabeth and Letitia

2) Sioned and Fin

3) Yin and Gaz

4) Brian and Melvin

5) Caroline and Tom

Which pair made it to the second checkpoint?

Episode two saw this year's pairs travelling from Huangling to second checkpoint Sanya, 2700km away.

Despite a typhoon disrupting plans, it was leaders Elizabeth and Letitia who reached the checkpoint first, followed by Brian and Melvin in second place, just under four hours behind. Sioned and Fin signed the book third, 5 hours and 29 minutes behind the leaders.

At the end of episode two, both Yin and Gaz, and Caroline and Tom, were stranded on the mainland due to the weather. The start of episode three saw Caroline and Tom arrive in fourth place, with Yin and Gaz last to arrive, a huge 44 hours behind Elizabeth and Letitia.

1) Elizabeth and Letitia

2) Brian and Melvin

3) Sioned and Fin

4) Caroline and Tom

5) Yin and Gaz

Which pair made it to the third checkpoint?

Episode three saw this year's pairs travelling from Sanya, to Shangri-La, the capital and largest city of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

Despite having a lead from the second checkpoint, couple Fin and Sioned make up six hours to catch the sisters, with the two pairs getting on the same train to Liuzhou. After failing to get to the station on time, Elizabeth and Letitia missed their train, losing money in the process.

Whilst mother and son duo Caroline and Tom were bus hopping across cities, disaster struck when Tom lost his money belt, sending the pair into a frenzy. Luckily, Tom found the belt in a bin, thanks to the help of a local cleaner.

In a shock to themselves, brothers Brian and Melvin were the first pair to arrive at the checkpoint in Shangri-La, followed by Elizabeth and Letitia. Despite making up time earlier in the week, Fin and Sioned actually finished in fourth place, behind Tom and Caroline in third.

1) Brian and Melvin

2) Elizabeth and Letitia

3) Caroline and Tom

4) Sioned and Fin

Which pair made it to the fourth checkpoint?

The fourth episode kicked off with the teams flying to Kathmandu in Nepal, in order to continue their journey onto the fourth checkpoint - Varanasi, which is an ancient city in Northern India.

Although the distance between Kathmandu and Varanasi is only 800KM, making it the shortest leg so far, the lack of high-tech transport links was apparent.

It was Brian and Melvin who managed to keep the lead, signing the book first, closely followed by Caroline and Tom, who were just a four hours behind. The episode finished with Sioned and Fin, and Elizabeth and Letitia still out on the road. At the beginning of episode five, Sioned and Fin, and Elizabeth and Letitia arrived in third and fourth place, almost a whole 24 hours behind.

1) Brian and Melvin

2) Caroline and Tom

3) Sioned and Fin

4) Elizabeth and Letitia

Which pair made it to the fifth checkpoint?

Episode five saw the remaining pairs travel from Varanasi to McLeod Ganj, a suburb of Dharamshala, with most of the pairs travelling through India's busy capital city Delhi.

After making up huge amounts of time in recent rounds, it was mum-and-son duo Caroline and Tom who got to the checkpoint first. Brothers Brian and Melvin signed the book in second, five hours behind, whilst sisters Elizabeth and Letitia were in third place, nine hours behind.

The fifth episode ended with Sioned and Fin waiting for their bus, miles away from the checkpoint. Episode six showed the pair arriving at the checkpoint in fourth place, a massive 24 hours behind Elizabeth and Letitia in third.

1) Caroline and Tom

2) Brian and Melvin

3) Elizabeth and Letitia

4) Sioned and Fin

Which pair made it to the sixth checkpoint?

Episode six saw the pairs attempt to travel 1900km South from McLeod Ganj, to checkpoint number six, Sasan Gir. All four teams made it to Gujarat, 40km from the checkpoint, meaning the race was on. Following a tense

All four teams made it to Gujarat, 40km from the checkpoint, meaning the race was on. Following a tense journey surrounded by amazing wildlife, it was brothers Brian and Melvin who arrived first, closely followed by Caroline and Tom, two hours later.

Sisters Elizabeth and Letitia stayed in third place, five hours behind Brian and Melvin, whilst Sioned and Fin made up huge 26 hours on the sixth leg.

For the first time since the pairs left The Great Wall of China, all four teams were within seven hours of each other, setting up a great race for the final two legs.

1) Brian and Melvin

2) Caroline and Tom

3) Elizabeth and Letitia

4) Sioned and Fin

Which pair made it to the seventh checkpoint?

The penultimate episode saw the teams attempting to travel to Panaji, India's smallest state and the capital of Goa, with just six hours separating the leaders and fourth place.

Despite leaving the sixth checkpoint first, Brian and Melvin lost time on the way to Panaji, signing the book last, a huge 17 hours behind new race leaders Caroline and Tom. Sisters Elizabeth and Letitia signed the book second, 6 hours and 54 minutes later, with Sioned and Fin arriving third, 7 hours and 48 minutes behind Caroline and Tom.

1) Caroline and Tom

2) Elizabeth and Letitia

3) Sioned and Fin

4) Brian and Melvin

Who was eliminated?

Episode three saw the departure of former married couple Yin and Gaz, after the pair were 1,800 km from the checkpoint when the rest of the teams signed the book.

Yaz said: "There have been some really lovely moments," with Gaz adding: "It's a bit raw now, but we will laugh about it."

When was the final?

The final episode aired on Wednesday 11th June.

What is the prize?

The winning pair won a cash prize of £20,000.

How many episodes?

The first episode aired on Wednesday 23rd April 2025.

The second episode aired on Wednesday 30th April 2025.

The third episode aired on Wednesday 7th May 2025.

The fourth episode aired on Wednesday 14th May 2025.

The fifth episode aired on Wednesday 21st May 2025.

The sixth episode aired on Wednesday 28th May 2025.

The seventh episode aired on Wednesday 4th June 2025.

The eighth episode aired on Wednesday 11th June 2025.

The reunion show will air on Wednesday 18th June 2025.

How do I apply?

Applications for the sixth series of Race Across The World are open now.

Find out more about applications right here.

Check out which other TV shows you can apply to be on:

Tim Harcourt, Creative Director, Studio Lambert said: "Audiences seem pleased that the difficult and disarming undertaking of the Race was not watered down for well-known personalities and their loved ones. We are thrilled to be making another series for the BBC."

Catherine Catton, Head of Commissioning, Factual Entertainment and Events, BBC added: "We would like to thank our cast for putting their heart and soul into it, and we are delighted with the reaction, particularly from young audiences on iPlayer. We are very much looking forward to working with Studio Lambert on the next series."

All five series of Race Across the World are now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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