Celebrity Race Across the World 2025 Final teams reveal who their biggest competition is and what the epic journey’s taught them about themselves

Published: 11 December 2025

In the Celebrity Race Across The World 2025 series finale the teams must race from Medellín, Colombia’s second-largest city, in an epic push of over 1,000km to the finish line on the Guajira Peninsula, the northernmost region of South America. They can either cut a course inland or follow the tourist trail along the Caribbean coast.

After 33 days and nearly 5,900km, which team will triumph and be the first to sign the all-important guest book and be crowned the winners?

We caught up with them all ahead of the final leg…

VHW

Anita and Bal

How do you feel to have made it this far in the race with just the final leg to complete?

Bal: I think it was quite tough, because we were first for two runs, then second, then third and now there’s huge pressure to get back to the top.

Anita: Now it feels like we’re properly racing. We feel under a lot of pressure.

Did you ever think you’d get this far?

Bal: Oh, yes! We would never quit.

Anita: We’re never going to quit. There’s obviously been disappointment so far about the things that have been out of our control, but there’s a life lesson in that, isn’t there? You know when Guatemala closed down, we miss a bus, or whatever, all those things are completely out of your control, and it’s very frustrating, but that’s part of the journey.

If you could relive one moment from the journey so far, what would it be? And why?

Bal: For me, every part of the journey has been fantastic and was new for me. Even getting on any of these rickety buses was new. Everything was memorable.

Anita: I’d do the whole thing again, definitely with my dad. But the volcano, the Lamanai ruins in Belize, but also just getting to know each other, having quality time together. Even with all the pressure, in a way, that’s what makes it – just having time. Time is everything, isn’t it?

Bal: I think that if you want to think what has been the best out of the journey so far, its been quality time.

What moment or experience has changed you most during the journey?

Anita: I’m somebody who likes to be in control quite a lot. And I think having to learn that sometimes life is out of your control, is something I’ve had to process during this journey.

What’s been your biggest challenge so far?

Bal: I’ve found that always the biggest challenge for me was every leg, starting the first part of each leg, getting that momentum going, and every challenge, even when we were trying to catch the bus, and we didn’t have any change and we had to wait for the banks to open…

Anita: My biggest challenge is my own personality, but also that’s my biggest asset as well. So a blessing and a curse.

Have you learnt anything about the world, or yourself?

Anita: People are good. There are some very generous, kindhearted people. What you give you get back.

Bal: No matter where we have been, people are willing to help us. So instead of making judgments beforehand, people will help you when you’re down, and you’ve got no money on you, people do have sympathy for you.

Did you learn anything from each other?

Anita: I’m just loving it. What an amazing gift to be able to spend this time with my dad. We’re having such a good time and it’s actually brought us a lot closer together.

Has there been a particular country or place that has left the biggest impression on you?

Bal: For me, El Salvador was really memorable, from what you perceive it would be to what it was. It’s an amazing country, the people are so friendly, wherever we went, I had no negatives about it whatsoever. And the other one was, Guatemala, it wasn’t how I expected it to be.

Did you surprise yourself in the experience at all?

Bal: Yes, I did actually. I imagined my legs would hurt, my knees would hurt but for some reason, probably the adrenaline, I’ve felt no aches and pains whatsoever.

Anita: Only when I made mistakes that I was like, how on earth did I do that? That was like the opposite. I didn’t surprise myself. I shocked myself. But you know, we’re only human.

Who do you think your biggest competition is going into the final leg?

Anita: Oh, everybody. I think because they’re young, they’re hungry. I think Harley and Roman came to win it. And I think Tyler and Molly have got a taste. So this is it. It’s the mad dash.

Bal: I think for us, at this point, everybody’s in the game. Everybody has won one of the legs apart from Harley and Roman, so I think they’re going to really go for it.

Anita: We are at a disadvantage going into the last one. From our 23-hour lead at the beginning, to now being quite far behind the leaders.

How confident are you going into the final?

Anita: We’re the underdogs. So not confident, it would take a lot, but as we’ve seen throughout the race we could do it. We’ll give it everything.

What would winning the race mean to you?

Bal: I think everybody loves to win. But we won the young’uns, that would be great!

Would you do anything differently?

Anita: Probably have moments where you just sit and think before making a decision.

Bal: I think the only thing is if you see somebody else doing a different route, not to follow the herd, stick to your game plan.

What was the one item in your bag you couldn’t have survived without?

Anita: Waterproofs and bin liners, they’ve saved us.

What’s the first thing that you want to do when the race is officially over?

Bal: Relax, have a beer and ring home.

What will you miss most about travelling this way?

Anita: Hanging out with my dad. It’s been really brilliant. I would happily do it again. Precious, precious time. What an adventure.

Anita, what was it like seeing the more vulnerable side to your dad?

Anita: I would say honest, this is life, and this is what we’ve been through. So yeah, I think it’s more that my dad has seen a more vulnerable side of me that I don’t normally show. So I think it’s the opposite way around. I know my dad, my dad’s very calm, thinks things very logically, whereas I’m very different to that.

Molly and Tyler

How do you feel to have made it this far in the race with just the final leg to complete?

Tyler: I think from the get-go it was always a big question mark in our heads whether we would actually get through to the first checkpoint, let alone get to this one! I remember thinking when we saw the final checkpoint on the map – how on earth are we going to get there? It puts it all into perspective that actually we’re not that bad at traveling to make it this far.

Molly: I also think that knowing we’re going into this last leg with a little bit of a lead is completely different to how we started the race and even the previous checkpoint where we came in last.

Tyler: Everything has been leading up to this moment, all the times we were both sick, the stress, the grey hairs that have appeared, its all mounting to this moment – I genuinely feel like we’re about to run the 100m final.

Molly: This is literally where it counts.

Did you ever think you’d get this far?

Tyler: Never in a million years. We thought that we’d be here to take part, not to actually be the front runners. The pressure is on.

Molly: I’m definitely going to go into full competitive mode.

If you could relive one moment from the journey so far, what would it be and why?

Molly: I think one of my favourite moments was all of us racing to the checkpoint in Honduras. I think that was crazy, that adrenaline on the Tuk-tuks was brilliant.

Tyler: That felt like we were in an action movie.

Molly: Or a James Bond fantasy.

Tyler: If I was to say a moment for us it would probably be back in Belize, back to the beach.

Molly: Having the chance to talk about us and our heritage and what this means to us and, our journey together, that was really special.

Tyler: It was a moment of peace amongst the chaos.

Has there been a moment or experience that has changed you most during this journey?

Molly: For me it was coming off the back of the illness, I really had to step up, and that was quite daunting at first, but it paid off.

Tyler: I think for me its been the time away. It’s made me relax a bit more. Things are out of your control.

Molly: It was having moments throughout the whole journey, doing things you didn’t like doing before and just having to get on and do it. Talking to strangers, asking people for help – those are things that you just don’t do anymore, but you’re forced into it. Its given me so much more confidence where I’m now like – what have I got to lose?

What has been your biggest challenge so far on the race?

Tyler: Our biggest challenge has been budget. It’s maths, and it always, and forever will be maths. Our budgeting hasn’t got better during the race, it’s just made us stop and think, can we really afford it? We’ve just got tighter!

Have you learned anything about the world and about yourself?

Molly: I think it’s really opened our eyes – we were obviously in what is considered a dangerous part of the world, but actually people couldn’t have been more helpful and friendly. And it just shows that there are good people everywhere. I think that was what was really lovely.

For me and Tyler it proved to us that we can get through anything together. But it also showed us how well we work together as a team and look after each other.

Has there been a particular country or place that has left the biggest impression on you?

Molly: I think Costa Rica was a bit traumatic, because it felt like we were on I’m a Celeb!

Tyler: I still have nightmares about Costa Rica. I can’t, that’s full trauma.

Molly: We couldn’t have slept closer together, because we were both didn’t want to touch the sides. That was so hard – facing your fears in the treehouse.

Tyler: I’ll never forget the Guna Yala islands, I’ve never seen somewhere so remote.

Molly: It felt like life in its most natural form, seeing all these tiny islands and meeting the people that live there.

Tyler: We live in the centre of London and its hustle and bustle and one of the busiest places in the UK, but then you go to this proper remote island, and you’re sat with a local family having food – its mad.

Molly: I slept in a hammock, and I feel like that is life-changing in itself.

Did you surprise yourself during this experience?

Tyler: I think we did. I think the way that we dived into it, considering how different it is to how we normally travel. I think it caught us off guard a bit. We became Tyler and Molly 2.0, thinking we were Bear Grylls – but we’re definitely not!

I think I thought we’d struggle more than we did, but we found moments to have a laugh throughout the whole journey.

Molly: I think that’s what’s so cool about it, we did find moments of relief. I think also as a couple we surprised ourselves in the fact that we didn’t really argue. It was actually just so much fun doing it together.

Molly, you talk about lacking confidence. How did you manage that during the race, when feelings of self-doubt creep in, how did you push through those feelings?

Molly: I think its the repetition of having to do it each time and having to do it each leg. I think that the more you do it, the less scary it becomes, and obviously, without being really cringe, Ty definitely helped me get through the feeling of self-doubt. All the stuff he was saying on the boat about how if you make the wrong decision on this race, it’s not going to cost the whole race, we just need to get off this bus and try a new one, and I think that was what was so reassuring. I think seeing my decisions play out in real time gave me perspective on them and actually it isn’t that bad.

Who do you think your biggest competition is going into the final leg?

Tyler: I think Roman and Harley are our biggest competition going into this leg – they’re hot on our heels.

Molly: I feel like they’ve tackled the race quite similarly to us.

Tyler: I also wouldn’t put it past Anita and Bal, because even though they’re 17 hours behind, we were also over 17 hours behind them at one point. So it is literally anybody’s for the taking, especially as now everyone will get a second wind energy – everybody’s engaged.

Molly: Literally anything can happen – it really does matter what route you take, what transport you take… How many times have we gone from last place or third place to first? Literally anything can happen.

Are you feeling quite confident going into the final?

Tyler: I think we are. We’re up there.

Molly: I wouldn’t say confident, but I would say we’ve got a head start, thank God.

Tyler: I think it’s leaning on everything we’ve learned throughout the race, and just trying to just dash it to the checkpoint.

What would winning the race mean to you?

Tyler: It would be the cherry on top of the cake, it would make all of the things that we’ve been through worth it. But also, at the same time, it has been a life-changing experience to even get this far, so it’s like we’ve already won coming into the final leg.

Molly: It does kind of feel like we’ve already won. It would be amazing though for us to show everyone that as a young couple, we can do it, make smart decisions and make the budget stretch!

Roman and Harleymoon

How do you feel to have made it this far in the race with just the final leg to go?

Roman: It was the first time we were gutted to come second. I think because we really believed that we were first when we got into Medellin, we really, really believed we were first. So now its all systems go and this is the last big push – we’ve got to do this. Were ready to properly fight, because this is our last chance to ever come first. The whole way we’ve said, as long as we just come first once and we can say we did it once but it’s just not happened.

Did you ever think you’d get this far?

Harleymoon: I was never going to drop out. However without Roman, I may have spent more money.

If you could relive one moment from the journey so far. What would it be?

Roman: I think our time with the family on the San Blas islands.

Harleymoon: That was something I’ve never seen before in my whole life. An island the size of a small football field and that was it, and just one family living on it out at sea. It just felt like we were in a Disney movie with the pig.

Roman: Yeah, I think I would say that just because it was the first time and I think it was the biggest moment for me and my life that took me so far from where I am from. It does make you realise that there’s so much more to life than this stupidity that we believe. You see what makes these people happy and how happy they really are, which is just this family.

Harleymoon: The time for self-reflection is when you’re stripped back to having nothing, you have some bananas and a hammock on an island in the middle of nowhere, and your life has turned into something so simple but so beautiful. Its an amazing window to reflect and think, wow, we have so much at home, and yet we always strive for more while we’re stressed or we don’t appreciate it in the same way – and getting to experience days like that, when you’re just so full of gratitude, was really amazing.

Do you think that that was the moment or experience that changed you the most during the journey? Did you feel like you changed at all during the journey?

Roman: I’d say it was the biggest point of self-reflection, you know, because Harley and I have always, been very acutely aware of where we’re from and the privileges that we have, but I think it was the first time that we could really look and see that its not necessarily about what you have or don’t have –it’s that you can actually find happiness wherever it is.

Happiness is a decision, and that’s what I think I took from that. I took that from so many different parts of it and with Harley. Happiness can be a real decision. And I think it’s nice to be able to see people living their life the way that they want to live it, without things that we think we need.

Have either of you kind of taught the other something that you didn’t know, like Harley is Roman during the trip, has he taught you anything that you didn’t know? And likewise, Roman has hardly done the same for you.

Harleymoon: I think Roman has taught me the art of being honest about your emotions. I think I’ve always just been upbeat. Don’t worry about it. And I think Roman being able to communicate how he feels all the time, strangely made me feel like, Oh, that’s not a weakness. That’s a really powerful tool that you have, to be able to express how you feel. And I feel really inspired by that.

Roman: I think a massive thing that Harley probably taught me throughout it was learning to enjoy the moments in life that we can’t control, the moments in life where you’ve just got to accept your circumstance. And I think that’s a really tough thing for me to do for who I am as a person. Because I like to prepare, and I like to know what’s ahead of me. And I really struggle sometimes to actually stop and realise that I can have enjoyment in those moments that I can’t control.

Has there been a particular country or place that left the biggest impression on you?

Harleymoon: One thing that I noticed so much when we were doing the journey was that in countries that had a lot less, they gave a lot more. And I think the kindness of the people was something that really inspired me and impressed me and made me think, what else can we be doing to help more people? But I think when you’re going through countries like Guatemala, where we were sat on a bus for 20p and people were happy to give you a ride in the back of their car for three hours, who don’t know, because they think you don’t have any way to get around. It was so inspiring to be around that.

Roman: I loved it in in Guatemala. I’ve loved seeing places where their respect for nature is so huge, and that they are able to give back to the land that they are a part of. That was new to me, that way of life. The level of respect that they have for the land that they live on is so massive, and I’ve never experienced people that think like that.

Did you surprise yourself during the experience?

Harleymoon: I thought I would find it a lot easier – I went into this saying I’m going to storm this, I’m good at sleeping but I just can’t believe how exhausting it really is racing across the world!

Roman: I was just so surprised over just how good of a team Harley and I were. You look at us and you go these two couldn’t be more different. We are so different in our approaches to life. I think the most important thing that you can have when it comes to friendships or teamwork comes down to the values that you have. And I think the values that Harley and I both have obviously come from our parents and come from what they have taught us.

Harleymoon: Fundamentals are the same but the personality styles are so different.

I think what is so nice is that our differences really complemented each other. Because if there were two of me, we would have been left in El Tunco weeks back and we’d have run out of money, and if there were two of Ro, we would have been having a mental breakdown!

Who do you think your biggest competition is going into the final leg?

Harleymoon: Were worried about Molly and Tyler as they’re a couple of hours ahead of us and if it comes down to a foot race I think they’d be our competition.

How confident are you going into the final?

Roman: Never confident. That’s probably something that I need to do more. But again, I go back to the fact that as an Arsenal fan, I have spent 20 years not being confident and it being true.

Harleymoon: I think what we learned on day one, I was really confident. Come on, we’re fun, we’re fit, we’re smart together. I’m street smart, Roman’s got the thinking brain. I was like, we are going to smash this. When you start to realise you can be 8 hours behind, 24 hours behind, and you didn’t have a clue and you thought you were doing well, there’s your confidence out the window!

What would winning the race mean to you?

Roman: It would mean a lot because it means we’ve proved that we can do something together that’s really hard. There’s no point being a part of something if you don’t want to win it.

Harleymoon: I think the winning for me would be the cherry on top, you’ve done the hardest journey, the most surreal journey of your whole life, completely offline and off grid in what feels like a mad social experiment.

Would you do it again?

Roman: No! Not for the pure anxiety!

Harleymoon: I don’t know it’s a once in a lifetime experience, and maybe it stays that way. I also don’t know if you’d feel that same anxiety, that same struggle and drive to want to keep going,

Would you have done anything differently so far?

Roman: Maybe spend a bit more money and have some proper dinners. Genuinely, my whole concern was that we were going to run out of money. And, you know, Harley and I are considered classic Nepo kids, and I didn’t want to run out and people think that we didn’t know the value of money – look at them, they’ve run out already.

Harleymoon: I wish we took more pictures on a proper camera, and I wish that I learnt the language.

What was the one item in your bag you couldn’t have survived without?

Roman: My fluffy eye mask, if I didn’t have that I would have been even worse. Its got all this lavender scent in it and it was perfect. That’s exactly what I needed. Also my compass.

Harleymoon: In terms of items for general travel, definitely the sheet that we slept on, because it just meant that we could roll it over the beds as they were so filthy. But then in terms of the race, the notebook was the best thing, because I just can’t remember anything. Thankfully, Roman ended up becoming the leader of logistics and memory.

Is there anything you’ll miss about travelling this way?

Roman: Spending time with Harley.

Harleymoon: I would say the same thing, being able to hang out together was just so good. I really hope that one day we get to do something like that again, but it just feels unrealistic with everyone’s schedules and reality.

Dylan and Jackie

How do you feel to have made it this far in the race with just the final leg to complete?

Dylan: I don’t think we expected to get this far. Our main target is just to complete it and to get to the fifth leg is huge for us.

Jackie: I thought we wouldn’t make it after leg one. I’m so pleased that we pushed ourselves through the lows, and I’m proud of us both for getting to the end of leg five. I can’t believe we’ve got this far.

If you could relive one moment from the journey, what would it be and why?

Dylan: I think doing that night tour in Costa Rica was pretty magical. That was a highlight for me. It was exciting, doing something explorative with a loved one and seeing all those creatures. It was like a dream really – it was a beautiful moment.

Jackie: There’s two things, although it was stressful, I really enjoyed trying to find a room at the hospital, because it was just so funny. But then like Dylan, Costa Rica and doing the night time tour and doing the boat trip to Limon and listening to howler monkeys. It was a full on experience with the jungle, and everything seemed to click for us in that leg as well.

Dylan: Reliving that moment when we found out we won the leg in Bocas del Toro. That was really cool. We were elated, mum cried, we were just in shock and were so buzzy afterwards.

Was there a moment or experience during the race that changed you most at all?

Dylan: I think it was the pressure and we did pressure ourselves loads, and we were really stressed a lot of it. But in those moments of struggle, I think that changed us lot, and it made us grow closer, but also grow as people.

Jackie: There were a few low moments where I could have quite easily given up but I’m glad we didn’t and we regrouped together and found strength to get through. We’ll always treasure our journey, but it just shows you that those tough moments, they only last for a little while and you can then experience great things.

What has been your biggest challenge so far in the race?

Dylan: The language, that’s been very tough, and that especially hit us when we were struggling because it made us feel more and more lost and more and more confused because we didn’t understand what people were saying. But also, it made us get out of our comfort zones, because we don’t really approach people like that in England.

Jackie: I agree. I think that’s why we did well in Costa Rica, because English was spoken better there, so we were able to make ourselves understood better.

Have you learned anything about the world and about yourself?

Jackie: I think it’s taught both Dylan and I not to be scared to ask for help. The majority of people do want to help you and are kind.

Dylan: I don’t think we realise how much kindness there is out there. And we felt it a lot. We felt so much love and togetherness with families and it was really strong and beautiful to see.

What have you taught each other on this journey?

Dylan: I’ve been able to see more of mums strength on this journey. And I’ve fed off that and learnt from that and became stronger myself.

Jackie: With Dylan I’ve seen quite a big difference throughout the journey. At the start he wasn’t particularly confident, and when he was asking for help, he was floundering. But now I can see him becoming more confident in himself and helping me out when I’m low. He’s definitely grown up a lot, and I’m very proud of him.

Was there a particular country or place that has left the biggest impression on you?

Dylan: Costa Rica – the wildlife and such lovely people. It was just a magical place. That made the biggest impression on us and for this journey as well, because we won that we leg.

Did you surprise yourself during this experience?

Dylan: Definitely. I think we really underestimated it, the whole process, the whole journey, and we have grown so much from it.

Who do you think your biggest competition is going into the final leg?

Dylan: All of them! Everyone’s strong, everyone’s a strong team. You have extreme ups and extreme downs, literally in the positions as well. Anita and Bal were first at one point and now they’re third – anything can happen. It’s crazy how much it shifts – so everyone’s a threat.

How confident are you going into the final?

Dylan: We noticed we spent a lot in Costa Rica, the two boat trips and the night tour took a bit out of our budget. So I think long term, we are worried about being able to finish the race.

What would winning the race mean to you?

Jackie: We haven’t thought about it. But a big lesson for us is that we shouldn’t put ourselves down so much and instead strive to push to win and not think such negative thoughts.

Dylan: I think that feeling of joy winning that fourth leg would be amazing to feel on the finish line.

Would you do it again?

Dylan: I don’t think I would, but it depends if it’s a country I’ve always wanted to go to, like Japan and I had a little bit more time to learn the language, also if I had my phone and credit cards – so really my own version of Race!

Jackie: Dylan’s version!

Would you have done anything differently?

Dylan: Yes, first leg for sure. I wish we had planned straight away what we were going to do. We didn’t plan until we got off the island and it was getting dark and it was just too late to do anything.

Jackie: We should have planned to have got out of Cancun, even though it was so late and we were so tired, we should have pushed ourselves.

What was the one item in your bag you couldn’t have survived without?

Jackie: I think the iPod was just a way of escaping stressful times and it helped the journey as well.

Dylan: I agree, my iPod as well – I could escape and zone out which was nice.

What’s the first thing that you want to do when the race is officially over?

Dylan: Getting my phone back. I know a lot of people say that they don’t miss their phone, but I do! I miss the group chats and catching up with friends.

Jackie: I’m looking forward to just having some time on my own and not being constantly on high alert and in race mode. I want to relax and be in a home environment, my own bed and eating my own food.

Is there anything that you’ll miss about travelling this way?

Dylan: Even though I literally just said about the phone, I think the not having my phone has brought us closer.

Jackie: I’ll miss the deep conversations we had, not having that phone there, and the distractions and living in the moment.