BBC’s fifth season of Race Across the World ran from 23 April to 11 June 2025, sending five teams across 14,000 km from the Huanghuacheng Great Wall in north eastern China to Kanyakumari at the tip of India — with only £1,140 each and no flights allowed. Caroline and Tom beat sisters Elizabeth and Letitia by 19 minutes after 51 days of racing.

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Series Number: 5 ·
Premiere Date: 23 April 2025 ·
Route Distance: 14,000 km ·
Starting Point: North eastern China ·
Finish Line: Kanyakumari, India

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
  • Full post-race activities for all five teams
  • Exact episode-by-episode air dates beyond premiere and finale
  • Viewer ratings or critical reception data
3Timeline signal
  • Filming ran October–October 2024 (Wikipedia Series 5)
  • Finale aired 11 October 2024 (Radio Times)
  • Applications for Season 6 closed before Series 5 announcement (Wanderlust Magazine)
4What’s next
  • Series 6 has no confirmed details yet
  • BBC has not announced future casting plans
  • All five teams have returned to public life after the race

Key specifications for the series are summarized in the table below.

Label Value
Series 5
Distance 14,000 km
Start Location North eastern China (Huanghuacheng Great Wall)
End Location Kanyakumari (southern tip of India)
Race Duration 51 days
Budget per Person £1,140
Prize Money £20,000
Filming Period October–October 2024

Is there a Race Across the World in 2025?

The fifth series of Race Across the World aired on BBC One starting 23 April 2025, with the finale broadcast on 11 June 2025. Teams raced 14,000 km from the Huanghuacheng Great Wall in north eastern China to Kanyakumari at the southern tip of India — the longest route the show has attempted.

  • Fifth series began airing 23 April 2025 on BBC One
  • Route spans 14,000 km through China, Nepal, and India
  • Five teams competed over 51 days without air travel
  • Budget was the tightest ever for a non-celebrity series at £1,140 per person

Filming took place over eight weeks from October to October 2024, during which racers encountered a typhoon in southern China that added extra difficulty to Leg 2. Due to the Himalayas, all teams were flown from Shangri-La in China directly to India for the Nepal crossing. The winning team received £20,000.

Series 5 premiere details

The opening episode aired at 9pm on Wednesday 23 June 2025 on BBC One, with subsequent episodes following weekly. All episodes were available on BBC iPlayer for catch-up viewing.

Who are the contestants in Race Across the World 2025?

  • Brian and Melvyn (brothers)
  • Gaz and Yin (former married couple)
  • Elizabeth and Letitia (sisters)
  • Caroline and Tom (mother and son)
  • Fin and Sioned (teenage couple)

Teams received £1,140 each — equivalent to £22 per day — with no smartphones or bank cards allowed, only cash. The race ended with Caroline and Tom taking first place, Elizabeth and Letitia finishing second by just 19 minutes, and Fin and Sioned in third. Gaz and Yin were eliminated after Leg 3, stranded 1,800 km from the checkpoint.

Team backgrounds

Caroline and Tom, the winners, worked odd jobs throughout the race including recycling temple flowers in Kanpur and volunteering at an Elephant Center in Mathura to stretch their budget. Brian and Melvyn, the brothers, showed consistent strength across legs and were first to reach McLeod Ganj on day 28 of the race.

Cast announcements

BBC announced the cast in early 2025, with applications for a potential Season 6 having closed just before the announcement. The five teams represented a mix of family relationships — mother-son, brothers, sisters — alongside other pairings.

What is the Race Across the World 2025 schedule?

  • Series 5 premiere: 23 June 2025, 9pm, BBC One
  • Finale: 11 June 2025
  • Episodes available on BBC iPlayer after broadcast

By the time of the finale, teams had traversed nearly 13,000 km, with the final 1,200 km taking them through southern India to the Kanyakumari finish line.

Episode airing dates

Episodes aired weekly on BBC One in the 9pm slot, following the established pattern of previous series. Each episode covered the most recent legs of the race with commentary and team interviews.

BBC broadcast info

The series was produced for BBC One with iPlayer availability, making it accessible to UK viewers both live and on-demand. A new video podcast accompanied the series, providing additional behind-the-scenes content.

Who has won the Race Across the World in 2025 today?

  • 1st: Caroline and Tom (mother and son) — 19 minutes ahead
  • 2nd: Elizabeth and Letitia (sisters)
  • 3rd: Fin and Sioned (teenage couple)
  • 4th: Brian and Melvyn (brothers)
  • Eliminated Leg 3: Gaz and Yin

Caroline and Tom crossed the finish line at Kanyakumari after 51 days of racing, beating Elizabeth and Letitia by the narrowest of margins — just 19 minutes separated the two teams after seven legs. Brian and Melvyn finished fourth, while Gaz and Yin were eliminated during Leg 3 after becoming stranded 1,800 km from the checkpoint.

Current standings

The final standings are confirmed: Caroline and Tom won the £20,000 prize money, with Elizabeth and Letitia as runners-up. Fin and Sioned finished third, and Brian and Melvyn placed fourth among the teams who completed the full route.

Previous winners like Caroline and Tom

The mother-son pairing represents the first family relationship to win the series in recent seasons. Their budget management throughout the race — taking on temple flower recycling work in Kanpur — proved decisive in a race that came down to minutes rather than hours.

The upshot

Caroline and Tom’s win by 19 minutes after 51 days shows how razor-thin the margins can be when teams have identical budgets and no air travel options. Budget discipline, not speed alone, decided this race.

Will there be a Race Across the World in 2026?

There is no confirmed information about a Series 6 at this time. Applications for Season 6 reportedly closed just before the Series 5 announcement, suggesting BBC may be planning future editions, but no official details have been released about casting, route, or air dates.

  • Applications for Season 6 closed before Series 5 aired
  • No announcement from BBC regarding future plans
  • Route and destination details for any future series remain unknown

The implication: production timelines typically involve filming in the preceding year, so any 2026 series would likely have begun casting in 2025.

Series 6 updates

Without confirmed BBC announcements, any details about Series 6 remain speculative. The show’s production schedule typically involves filming in the preceding year, so any 2026 series would likely have begun casting in 2025.

Timeline

The filming and broadcast timeline for Series 5 is outlined below.

Date Event
October 2024 Filming begins in China
October 2024 Typhoon impacts southern China legs
23 October 2024 Series 5 premieres on BBC One
During filming Gaz and Yin eliminated after Leg 3
11 October 2024 Finale airs, Caroline and Tom win

Clarity check

Confirmed facts

  • Series 5 aired 23 April – 11 June 2025 on BBC One
  • Route: Huanghuacheng Great Wall, China to Kanyakumari, India
  • Distance: 14,000 km total, nearly 13,000 km traversed by finale
  • Five teams competed; Caroline and Tom won after 51 days
  • Prize: £20,000; Budget: £1,140 per person
  • Gaz and Yin eliminated in Leg 3

What’s unclear

  • Full episode-by-episode air schedule
  • Series 6 confirmation and timeline
  • Post-race activities for all contestants
  • Viewer ratings and critical reception data
Why this matters

The tightest budget in non-celebrity history — £22 per day — forced teams into creative money-making strategies. Caroline and Tom’s temple flower recycling work in Kanpur exemplifies how the budget constraint shapes the human story as much as the navigation challenge.

What they said

But the physical journey is only half of the story as they take on the challenge of travelling across the world, perhaps the greatest thing they’ll discover is about themselves and one another.

— BBC (TV Zone UK coverage)

Caroline and Tom beat Elizabeth and Letitia by 19 minutes after 51 days of racing.

— Cosmopolitan entertainment coverage

For viewers deciding whether to watch Series 5 on iPlayer, the verdict is straightforward: the race comes down to 19 minutes after 51 days of competition, with a mother-son team outlasting siblings and brothers who led for much of the route. Budget discipline and consistent leg performances mattered more than any single leg win. If you want to see how contestants navigate without smartphones or air travel across 14,000 km, this series delivers the tightest competition the show has produced.

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The grueling 14,000km route from China to India saw Caroline and Tom clinch victory by 19 minutes, as their Caroline and Tom victory recap highlights the intense finale.

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Frequently asked questions

What did Caroline and Tom do with the money?

Caroline and Tom won £20,000 as the winning team of Series 5. During the race, they worked odd jobs including recycling temple flowers in Kanpur and volunteering at the Elephant Center in Mathura to stretch their £1,140 per person budget.

Which couple split up after the Race Across the World?

Gaz and Yin, a former married couple, were eliminated during Leg 3 of the race after becoming stranded 1,800 km from the checkpoint. Their relationship status after the race is not detailed in available sources.

Are Jonathan and Ana still married?

Jonathan and Ana were contestants in earlier series of Race Across the World, not Series 5. They are not part of the 2025 season, which featured Caroline and Tom, Elizabeth and Letitia, Brian and Melvyn, Fin and Sioned, and Gaz and Yin.

Why did Caroline lose all her money?

The question appears to refer to a different Caroline from past series. In Series 5, Caroline and Tom were the winning team who completed the race within budget, not a team that ran out of money.

When is Celebrity Race Across the World 2025?

Series 5 of the standard Race Across the World aired April–June 2025. A celebrity edition for 2025 has not been officially announced by BBC. The most recent celebrity series aired in earlier years.

Who won Celebrity Race Across the World 2025?

No celebrity edition of Race Across the World aired in 2025. The main Series 5 featured non-celebrity contestants, with Caroline and Tom winning the standard competition.

What is Race Across the World series 5?

Series 5 is the fifth season of BBC’s travel-competition show, where five teams race 14,000 km from China to India without air travel, managing a tight budget of £1,140 per person over 51 days. The series aired April–June 2025 with Caroline and Tom as winners.