Warning! Celebrity Race Across The World Spoilers follow.
For fan’s of BBC’s regular Race Across The World series, the introduction of a celebrity version took the globe-trotting reality series to the next level.
Featuring a trek from Marrakesh in Morocco to Tromsø in Norway, Celebrity Race Across The World kicked the show up a notch, with weather presenter Alex Beresford, McFly drummer Harry Judd, All Saints singer Melanie Blatt and F1 pundit Billy Monger all selecting a member of their family to join them on their journey.
Celebrity Race Across the World saw the four celebs and their various partners attempt to make the trans-continental journey for the same price as a plane ticket between the start and end point – but one pair’s trek was brought to a premature stop just hours before reaching the final checkpoint in Norway in Wednesday night’s episode (25 October).
Despite finishing first in the previous leg, Billy and sister Bonny bowed out of the final stretch of the competition, leaving their competitors a note, which read: “Dear guys, we’re sorry to say a family emergency has meant we’ve decided to leave the race. Wishing you all the best and good luck! Catch you all back on home soil.”
During the episode, which kicked off in Berlin, the pair admitted to being “gutted” to have to leave, as they felt that they were “growing into the race” just before its final hurdle.
“It is sad to be leaving the race but you know, family comes first. It’s a shame but I think it’s for the best,” they added
Billy, who is a former F4 driver and current TV personality and pundit for F1, took to Instagram to further explain, posting a note to his Story.
“[Bonny] and I were gutted to have to leave the race. A close family member had a bad accident so we had to get home.”
Luckily, Billy confirmed that the situation is “all okay now”, adding “We loved the journey!”
The series crowned Good Morning Britain star Alex and father Noel as winners of the season after they reached the final checkpoint on Tromsoya Island just four minutes before Harry and mum Emma.
Melanie and mother Helene arrived in third, with just one euro out of their budget to spare.
Celebrity Race Across The World is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.