Warning! This article contains spoilers about the final episode of Race Across The World.
There were scenes of pure joy and incredible friendship as the winners of Race Across The World were crowned in Wednesday night’s episode.
The final of the hit BBC competition series saw the final three pairs embark on the last leg of their journey across Canada.
In the end, it was best friends Tricia and Cathie who reached the final checkpoint before anyone else – and their reaction was everything.
The pair, who have been friends since school, beat couple Zainib and Mobeen and father-daughter pairing Ladi and Monique as they had to find the quickest way to reach St John’s from Liverpool in Nova Scotia.
After racing to a lighthouse on Cape Spear, Cathie and Tricia could not believe it after opening the check-in book to find they had won the race – despite taking a risk by travelling a longer route to get to their final destination.
Upon their win, the elated friends flung their arms around one another and both became emotional, amid screams of “Oh my God!”.
“We won!” Cathie shouted over the cliffs at the top of her voice, before they embraced again.
“I think it’s going to take a while to actually sink in what we’ve done and what we’ve achieved,” Cathie said.
“Rather than women, as they reach older years, being dismissed, I think we should be celebrated for that.”
Tricia, who is partially sighted, agreed, adding: “It doesn’t matter how old you are, or whether you’re female, male, 36 or 86 – anybody with any difficulties, if you’ve got the gumph, do it!”
On social media, viewers were overjoyed for the pair:
The show’s reunion episode, which followed the final, later revealed that Cathy and Tricia had actually won by quite some margin.
They were two hours ahead of runner’s up Zainib and Mobeen, while Ladi and Monique trailed 20 minutes behind them.
The reunion also revealed a lovely update for Zainib and Mobeen, who – after being open about their struggles to conceive a child of their own while on the show – told their fellow competitors that they were now discussing adopting a child, after meeting a man who was adopted during the final leg of the race.
Race Across The World returns to BBC One with a celebrity edition in the autumn. The previous two series are also available on BBC iPlayer.