Reality fans rejoice! Series four of Race Across the World has landed and five pairs of Brits are vying for the £20,000 cash prize.
This year, the contestants are racing 15,000 km across Asia and it’s set to make us all wish we were in their places. But what are their lives like back in the UK? We’ve investigated the careers of our contestants as well as what they might expect to earn, to give a flavour of what a difference the prize could make.
Could some of these career paths give them the edge when it comes to the competition? We happen to think they just might!
Alfie
Day job: Football referee
Average advertised salary: £32,142
20-year-old football referee Alfie has a game plan in mind for his team, and he won’t be caught sleeping if he can help it!
His football strategy experience will help him pace his travel game, and identify good opportunities to score in this away game.
Careers in football might include becoming a ref like Alfie, exploring coaching or working in a role like physio or hospitality at a football club.
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Owen
Day job: Pilot
Average advertised salary: £44,049
Hoping to fly high and make it to the final, Alfie’s teammate Owen is hoping that his skills as a trainee pilot will land his team the win. As a trainee, he needs to complete 250 hours of flight time to become a commercial pilot.
His focus and ability to stick to routes will come in useful when his team are trying to improvise navigation. We wonder whether he’s ever flown to Asia before, because if so he could have a real advantage.
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Betty
Day job: Social media manager
Average advertised salary: £36,084
Travelling around picturesque Japan will make social media manager Betty desperately miss her phone!
However, we bet that those communication and design skills will come in useful when trying to tackle the language barrier. Betty also works in the events industry, a role where you need to be really organised – skills that could help keep younger brother James in line!
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James
Day job: Sales consultant
Average advertised salary: £40,106
Competitive 21-year-old sales consultant James will be bringing his gift of the gab and his competitive edge to this year’s competition. He’s even prepared himself for not eating – very aware that the budget includes food.
We’re hoping we’ll see what makes a great salesman in James such as perseverance, quick thinking, and people skills. All of which could be super useful in the competition.
A mix of Yorkshire charm and his skills in sales will get him some sweet deals and help him keep an eye on his team’s budget!
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Eugenie
Day job: Teacher
Average advertised salary: £33,194
As a teacher, Eugenie is used to keeping a classroom calm, focused, and on track. Could these skills help her to navigate a route to the win? As part of her career, she’s learned Makaton which she’s hoping could give her and her daughter an edge over their fellow contestants.
A self-confessed competitive person, will we see Eugenie schooling her opposition?
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Isabel
Day job: Clinical scientist
Average advertised salary: £44,263
Science takes a lot of research, discipline, and experimentation to see results which Isabel will surely be hoping is a case study for success.
Described by her mum as pedantic and a planner, our theory is that Isabel’s patience and attention to detail will give her good odds to take home the prize money.
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Sharon
Day job: Cleaner
Average advertised salary: £30,269
Sharon, 52, is hoping to scrub up well compared to her competition with her experience as a cleaner. The attention to detail, stamina, and self-discipline that comes with this career could stand Sharon and her daughter Brydie in good stead
At home with roughing it, she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty and get stuck in. With contestants able to spend days working during the competition to claw back some money, Sharon’s skills could be the difference between going home and winning big. Will she and Brydie wipe the floor with the competition?
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Brydie
Day job: Sports instructor
Average advertised salary: £29,284
Swapping her snowboard for walking boots, 25-year-old Brydie’s day job means she’s used to being freestyle. More used to mountain life than Asian heat, only time will tell if Brydie and her mum find the competition too hot to handle.
She’ll be encouraging her mum to pull out their coolest tricks to win, and her teaching skills might make her the top of this class.
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Stephen and Viv
Retired
Average salary: £11,502.40
We’re not entirely sure what Stephen and Viv did before they retired but assuming they’re on state pension they could be earning just over £11,500 each per year in the 2024-25 tax year.
They’re hoping to prove that age is just a number, and although they have no intention of doing any running, we think they could quickly become fan favourites. True to their retiree status, they took some time to relax in an onsen in episode 1 – and they still didn’t arrive at their checkpoint last!
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We’ve raced through nine careers and it’s clear that these contestants all have some different skill sets. Could Sharon’s cleaning help her team to earn money along the way? Could Eugenie’s Makaton get her team out of a difficult communication challenge? Or could James’ sales skills get his team the win? Only time will tell.
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Lead image: Race Across the World Instagram