Anita Rani races ahead in Celebrity Race Across the World as Guatemala crisis forces rare safety clampdown

Highlights:

• Father–daughter pair return tonight as the Central America leg tightens
• Civil unrest halts several teams mid-journey
• Anita and Bal still holding the strongest early lead
• New no-night-travel rule shakes up the race
• BBC One keeps the route under wraps until each episode lands

The Celebrity Race Across the World grind picks up again and Anita Rani is right back in the heat of it with her dad, Bal. People noticed how quickly they pulled away in that first episode, almost a whole day ahead, though the stretch through Guatemala, has thrown every team off since.

Anita Rani stays in front on Celebrity Race Across the World while rival teams hit by sudden travel shutdown Instagram/itsanitarani

Who is Anita Rani?

Anita’s a familiar BBC name, fronting Countryfile and Woman’s Hour, with years of early starts, field work, and straight reporting behind her. She’s 48 now and the sort of traveller who doesn’t really switch off. She said the race left her waking up with a knot in her stomach each day, not knowing what roads were open or who was striking where.

She’s teamed with her dad, Balvinder Singh Nazran, a 69-year-old semi-retired businessman from Bradford. They’ve joked about how they bickered within an hour of the cameras rolling, like Anita slipping back into “teenage her.”

Anita Rani pushes through on Celebrity Race Across the World as producers impose new night travel banGetty Images

Why Celebrity Race Across the World matters for Anita Rani

The show’s format is simple on paper: no phones, no flights, fixed cash, find your way. But this year’s celebrity run is tougher because of the open route across Central America. Anita and Bal started on Isla Mujeres and have 5,900km to reach the north of Colombia. That’s buses, ferries, walking, whatever you can afford. Anita said she signed up because she and her dad never travelled much when she was young and the race has given them time they missed earlier in life.

How unrest changed the Celebrity Race Across the World route

A few hours into the second leg, Guatemala stalled everything. Protests, blocked road and no safe way through. Roman Kemp and Harleymoon were held up. Anita and Bal were too. Others skirted around the disruption. Dylan Llewellyn and his mum pushed deeper into Guatemala, while Molly Rainford and Tyler West swung out to Belize instead.

The big shift came when producers brought in a new safety rule: no travelling after dark. It is the first time they have ever done it. Crime and trafficking spikes in the region after sunset, especially heading into El Salvador, where the second checkpoint sits. It has slowed every team, which levels the field a bit.

What’s next for Anita Rani in Celebrity Race Across the World

This time the choice is tough: the mountains of Guatemala or the longer slip through Honduras. With Anita and Bal’s head start wiped by the stoppages, it’s anyone’s stage to win. They are still one of the most organised teams, though, and people on the ground have said they move with a quiet confidence.

The race continues on BBC One at 8pm, and the next checkpoint is close enough that one wrong bus could flip the standings.