Celebrity Race Across the World: Princess and Junior Andre lead new lineup

Highlights

• The new series of Celebrity Race Across the World features Princess and Junior Andre, Sam Ryder, Ella Eyre and Jeff Stelling
• The route runs from Kuching, Malaysia, through five checkpoints across three countries and two continents, finishing in Melbourne, Australia
• Contestants travel with no phones, no credit cards and no flights, relying only on cash and a paper map
• The series airs on BBC iPlayer this autumn

Four familiar faces are about to lose their phones, their flights and most of their comfort, for a race that stretches across two continents.

Who's racing this time

Princess and Junior Andre, the children of Peter Andre and Katie Price, will compete as a sibling team — a pairing insiders have described as a natural fit after both impressed BBC executives with their work on The Princess Diaries. They're joined by Eurovision star Sam Ryder, who's bringing his tour manager and close friend Kaz Coles rather than a family member, and singer Ella Eyre, who's teamed up with her childhood friend Nana Pepera. Veteran broadcaster Jeff Stelling completes the lineup, racing alongside his son Matt.

Announcing the cast, the BBC described the show's pitch in characteristically blunt terms: "Familiar faces, numerous countries, zero VIP treatment. Famous family & friends pairs take on a race across the world — by any means necessary."

Princess Andre and Junior Andre attend the NTA's 2025 at The O2 Arena on September 10, 2025 in London, England. Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for the NTA's

The route: Malaysia to Australia, the long way round

The teams set off from Kuching, the capital of Malaysia's Sarawak state, and have to reach five checkpoints spread across three countries and two continents before the finish line in Melbourne, on Australia's southern coast. As with every series of Race Across the World, flying is banned entirely — contestants have to find their own way by boat, bus, train or whatever else is available, with nothing but cash, a paper map and a GPS tracker for safety.

Junior Andre, Princess Andre and Peter Andre attend the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards 2022 at Grosvenor House on October 24, 2022 in London, England. Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images

Why the format still works

Celebrity Race Across the World spun off from the original civilian version, which first aired in 2019 and has built a loyal following by stripping modern travel — and modern celebrity — down to its bare essentials. No phones means no social media, no managers fielding calls, and no way to fake a struggle for the cameras. A BBC spokesperson put it simply when discussing the new series: audiences love watching their favourite stars handle genuinely daring challenges in spectacular, unfamiliar places, without the usual safety net.

That's also exactly why the celebrity format has become one of the BBC's more durable reality formats rather than a one-off novelty — this is the third celebrity series since the format launched, following earlier runs that took stars through Central America and across 24 countries between Morocco and Norway.

The new series airs on BBC iPlayer this autumn, with the next civilian series of Race Across the World confirmed to return to BBC One next spring.