Review: Kelly Brook’s Thrilling Sprint in Celebrity Race Across the World

For reasons that are not always entirely clear, celebrities love doing weird challenges on TV. Whether it’s eating live spiders or falling backwards out of a helicopter into open water, the thirst for the bizarre is unending. There are so many of these shows that it’s hard to remember what some celebrities did before entering the British TV challenge circuit. One might wonder: Was she on Gogglebox? Did he do Towie? Why are they now fumbling around in total darkness in an underground bunker with Chris Eubank and Danny Dyer? The questions continue.

Enter “Celebrity Race Across the World,” a show that might initially seem similar to the usual roster of bizarre celebrity challenges but distinguishes itself in significant ways. Yes, there are celebrities, and yes, they are doing something strange on TV: trying to travel from northern Brazil to southern Chile in pairs, without smartphones or bank cards, and with just £36 in cash each day. However, it’s far less eye-roll inducing and far more wholesome than it sounds. Unlike some other celebrity shows, this one makes you care about the participants and root for their success.

Each pair on the show appears to be motivated by personal reasons. TV presenter Jeff Brazier, 45, is participating to spend more time with his teenage son, Freddie. As they have grown older and busier, they have felt disconnected from one another. At 19, Freddie is still trying to figure out who he is and what he wants to become. “I want you to start making decisions for yourself instead of just going with the flow like you usually do,” Jeff tells his son. Freddie later shares his thoughts with the camera, saying, “Right now I’m trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. It’s quite tough. Who is Freddie Brazier? I don’t know.”

For broadcaster Kelly Brook, 44, and her husband, Jeremy Parisi, 39, the show is an opportunity to break away from their routine. Kelly often feels painted as a super-glamorous pin-up who does calendar shoots. “It’s all an illusion; that’s not who I am at all. Kelly Brook doesn’t actually exist!” she exclaims. For BBC Radio 2 DJ Scott Mills, 51, and his then-fiancé, now-husband, Sam Vaughan, 35, the show represents a chance to undertake a huge challenge before getting married. For actor Kola Bokinni, 32, and his cousin Mary-Ellen, it offers an opportunity to go on an adventure together. “We’ve always navigated life together, but his career’s really taking off so I don’t get to see him that often,” Mary-Ellen says. They both grew up on an estate in Peckham, south-east London. “To go on this adventure together … it’s going to be amazing.”

The pairs navigate their way through backpacker hostels, 14-hour bus rides, and treks through grassy fields in blazing temperatures. But some of the most heartwarming moments are the small, unexpected ones. For instance, Freddie holds a trembling chicken to his chest, eyes shut in joy and trepidation. Kelly, meanwhile, wades through brackish water between mangroves, helping to plant new saplings in the rain. Kola and Mary-Ellen plunge into cool desert lagoons that have temporarily formed between sand dunes in Lençóis Maranhenses national park in Maranhão, north-eastern Brazil. Watching all these moments, you may find yourself wondering if you could do this too. Travel agents even noticed a boost after the show’s recent rise in popularity, as viewers felt inspired by the adventure they witnessed.

Of course, given that this is a TV show, there are plenty of elements that appear set up and preplanned. Each team seems to have accommodation sorted out in various family homes, and the race to the first checkpoint is so close that it feels orchestrated to some extent. But this is television, and if everyone were left entirely to their own devices, who knows where they would end up? This guided chaos helps maintain the suspense and excitement. “Come on, give me your bag,” pants Jeremy, with the sound of dramatic music playing in the background, as Kelly speeds down a cobbled street in harem pants. The scene will have you white-knuckling the sofa as if their very lives depend on making that checkpoint.

In this era of endless recycled formats and growing disillusionment with the concept of “celebrity,” it’s easy to feel cynical about radio presenters and actors putting themselves through the wringer to prove they are just like us. But “Celebrity Race Across the World” has an unusually calming and warming effect on the heart. It helps that the show features an incredibly likable group of people. There are no villains and no egos disguised beneath faux-humbleness. This is about people finding themselves and each other while experiencing things they wouldn’t usually. And it is utterly, wonderfully captivating.

“Celebrity Race Across the World” aired on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.

Source: BBC