The Celebrity Race Across the World stars were forced to catch a flight in Thursday’s episode, breaking the rules of the show.
Originally, the BBC show was going to be titled “Flightless” because the contestants are tasked with racing across the world without getting a plane, with a budget of roughly the cost of an airline ticket. Along with air travel, smartphones and credit cards are also banned.
At the third checkpoint, which marks the halfway point of the race, the teams were informed of an unexpected announcement.
Dad and daughter Anita Rani and Bal, Strictly couple Molly Rainford and Tyler West, Beyond Paradise actor Dylan Llewellyn and his mum Jackie, as well as siblings Roman Kemp and Harleymoon, were surprised to find out about the change in the race.
Slideshow: Celebrity Race Across the World reaches the halfway mark
It said: “It is not possible for the race to continue through Nicaragua. Teams must fly to Liberia, where the race will resume.”
Rainford was delighted to share that the destination was in Costa Rica. “I’ve been reading my maps!” She said to the group.
Of the move, Rani said: “Onwards and literally upwards.”
Why are Celebrity Race Across the World stars getting a flight?
Molly Rainford and Tyler West wait on Celebrity Race Across the World. (BBC/Studio Lambert)
Narrator John Hannah explained the reason behind the drastic measure in the voiceover on Thursday.
He said: “As the permission to film in the neighbouring country of Nicaragua was not granted, teams will resume the race just 90km away from its border in Liberia, Costa Rica.”
Although there were no filmed moments of the teams on the flight, a shot was captured from the cockpit and another from an aeroplane window. This is typical of these scenes on the Race Across the World franchise.
Only eight minutes separated the top three teams. Once on the ground at the airport, the pairs left in the same order with the usual allowed time given.
TV cameras were filming as Rainford and Tyler left the airport to continue the race.
It had been explained earlier on by the narrator that: “In a shake-up to the leaderboard, Molly and Tyler have risen to the top. Dylan and Jackie have clambered out of last place for the first time.”
When have the rules been broken on Race Across the World?
Anita Rani and Bal are starring on Celebrity Race Across the World. (BBC/Studio Lambert)
It isn’t the first time that the Race Across the World stars have had to get a flight during the series.
In the 2025 series, the contestants had to catch a flight in China. Yahoo UK understands the contestants flew over the Himalayas, and there was no way for them to make that journey on land without scaling the mountains.
In the 2024 series, the contestants flew from Sokcho in South Korea to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
This rule break dates back to series two, when contestants flew over Ecuador due to civil unrest at the time.
These flights are all acknowledged onscreen. Brief explanations are provided for why the plane trip was necessary for it to take place.
Celebrity Race Across the World is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source uk.news.yahoo.com ’
