Celebrity Race Across the World review – Kelly Brook’s checkpoint sprint is white-knuckle stuff | Television & radio

For causes that aren’t all the time fully clear, celebrities love doing bizarre challenges on TV: consuming dwell spiders; falling backwards out of a helicopter into open water; looking down ghosts with Rylan Clark. There are such a lot of of those exhibits, in actual fact, that it may be laborious to recollect what a few of these celebrities did earlier than they entered the British TV problem circuit. Was she on Gogglebox? Did he do Towie? Why are they now fumbling round in complete darkness in an underground bunker with Chris Eubank and Danny Dyer? It’s anybody’s guess. And on it goes.

Now to Celeb Race Throughout the World, which – though it sounds like most of the aforementioned – is kind of a bit totally different. Sure, there are celebrities. And, sure, they’re doing a bizarre factor on TV. On this case, making an attempt to get from northern Brazil to southern Chile in pairs, within the shortest time and with out smartphones or financial institution playing cards and with simply £36 in money a day. However it’s a lot much less eye-roll inducing and much more healthful than that sounds. This isn’t about watching C-lister actuality present veterans get grumpy within the jungle as a result of they’ll’t get a balayage. Simply as within the civilian model, you’ll find your self caring about these folks, rooting for them to succeed.

Every pair seems to be doing the present for private causes. TV presenter Jeff Brazier, 45, desires to spend extra time together with his teenage son, Freddie. As they’ve older and busier, they’ve felt a bit disconnected from each other. At 19, Freddie shouldn’t be but positive who he’s or desires to turn into. He’s hoping it will assist him discover out. “I would like you to step into making selections for your self as a substitute of simply going with the stream such as you often do,” Jeff tells his son. Later, Freddie speaks to the digital camera. “Proper now I’m making an attempt to determine what I wish to do with my life,” he says. “It’s fairly powerful. Who’s Freddie Brazier? I don’t know.”

For broadcaster Kelly Brook, 44, and her husband, Jeremy Parisi, 39, it’s about doing one thing out of the norm. Kelly says she is commonly painted as a super-glam pin-up who does calendar shoots, however says: “It’s all an phantasm; that’s not who I’m in any respect. Kelly Brook doesn’t really exist!” For BBC Radio 2 DJ Scott Mills, 51, and his then fiance, now-husband Sam Vaughan, 35, the present was an opportunity to embark on an enormous problem earlier than getting married. And for actor Kola Bokinni, 32, and his cousin Mary-Ellen, it is a chance to go on an journey collectively. “We’ve all the time navigated life collectively, however his profession’s actually taking off so I don’t get to see him that always,” says Mary-Ellen, who grew up with Kola on an property in Peckham, south-east London. “To go on this journey collectively … it’s going to be wonderful.”

The pairs navigate their means by backpacker hostels, 14-hour bus rides and treks by grass fields in blazing temperatures. However a few of the most touching moments are the small and surprising ones: Freddie holding a trembling rooster to his chest, eyes squeezed shut in pleasure and trepidation. Kelly wading by brackish water between mangroves, serving to to plant new saplings within the rain. Kola and Mary-Ellen plunging into the cool desert lagoons which have briefly gathered between sand dunes in Lençóis Maranhenses nationwide park in Maranhão, north-eastern Brazil. As occurs when watching all good journey actuality exhibits, you’ll find your self questioning in the event you may do that too. There’s a purpose journey brokers skilled a lift after the present’s latest development in reputation. Watching nature on display screen, it would be best to attain out and contact it.

After all, as a result of that is leisure, loads of components seem arrange and preplanned. Every workforce appears to have lodging sorted in numerous household properties, and the race to the primary checkpoint is so shut that it’s laborious to not suspect that it was a minimum of partly orchestrated. However that is tv, and if everybody was left to their very own units with no background assist, then who is aware of the place they might find yourself. It definitely wouldn’t get the center racing in fairly the best way it does. “Come on, give me your bag,” pants Jeremy, the sound of stabbing strings pounding within the background, as Kelly speeds down a cobbled avenue in harem pants. You’ll be white-knuckling the couch as if their life is determined by them making that checkpoint.

On this period of infinite recycled codecs and a rising disillusionment with the idea of “movie star” extra usually, it may be simple to really feel cynical in regards to the concept of radio presenters and actors placing themselves by their paces to show they’re similar to us. However Celeb Race Throughout the World has an unusually calming and warming impact on the center. It helps that they’ve chosen a bunch of actually likable folks. There are not any villains, and no egos disguised beneath the faux-humbleness that these brushed with fame are inclined to inhabit. That is extra about folks discovering themselves and one another as they expertise issues they wouldn’t often. And it’s totally, splendidly fascinating.

Celeb Race Throughout the World aired on BBC One and is on BBC iPlayer.