Race Across the World stars Jo and Kush appeared on BBC’s Morning Live on Thursday
Jo and Kush are competing on Race Across the World(Image: BBC/Studio Lambert)
One Race Across the World star has made an unexpected admission.
The hit travel competition sees five intrepid teams embarking on the journey of a lifetime, spanning more than 12,000km across southern Europe and Central Asia. They will navigate seven checkpoints on their way to Hatgal in remote northern Mongolia.
Cousins Puja and Roshni were the first pair to be eliminated earlier this month, with more dramatic twists in store.
Sibling duo Katie and Harrison lost their lengthy lead last week, dropping all the way down to last place. In-laws Mark and Margo have charged into the lead for the first time, followed by childhood best friends Jo and Kush, and father-and-daughter pair Molly and Andrew.
Ahead of a new instalment airing on Thursday (April 30), Jo and Kush appeared on BBC’s Morning Live, where they spoke to hosts Holly Hamilton and Rav Wilding about their experience on the show.
During the interview, Kush revealed a hidden struggle he faced during the race, which viewers wouldn’t have known about.
“I think the hardest part is the fact that you sacrifice everything. You’ve got no home life, no reminders of home, no [home] comforts. Everything is to do with the race, and I think that started to get a bit consuming at times,” he said.
“You’re going to sleep and thinking about the race. Every day, every action and decision you make is to advance your race, and I really struggled with that at times. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t function.”
Holly then discussed a show “controversy” after Jo and Kush notably decided against giving money to their competitors Molly and Andrew.
The presenter said: “There was one point, as well, where you had to make a decision about whether or not to give money to one of the other teams. There was a bit of controversy around that.”
Kush replied: “People come up to us and they’re so 50/50. I had one person come up to me a few days ago at work, saying, ‘Oh, you should have given them [the money]. Why didn’t you give them the euros?'”
Jo added: “At the end of the day, it is a competition. The game’s a game. Obviously, we love Andrew and Molly. We actually gave them the €10 back the other day, and they gave us £10 back, so we made a little transaction there!”
Tonight’s episode will see the teams face the longest leg of the race so far. They will travel through the world’s largest landlocked country, Kazakhstan, and into Uzbekistan, navigating the vast Kazakh steppe with its endless horizons and limited English speakers.
One racer soon becomes overwhelmed after a string of missed connections and fraught taxi negotiations, while another pair take part in an authentic Kazakh coming-of-age celebration.
Race Across the World is available to stream on BBC iPlayer
