The BBC has confirmed the line-up for the 2026 series of Celebrity Race Across The World, with Princess and Junior Andre, Ella Eyre, Jeff Stelling and Sam Ryder among the famous faces taking on the challenge. The new series will cover a distance of 7,500km, setting off from Kuching in Malaysia and finishing in Melbourne, Australia.
Meet the celebrity pairs
Princess Andre, 19, will team up with her older brother Junior, 21. The children of Peter Andre and Katie Price have appeared in several TV shows alongside their parents, and Princess stars in her own ITV2 series, The Princess Diaries. Junior is an aspiring recording artist and actor. Reacting to the announcement on Instagram, Junior teased fans by saying, 'you guys just wait'.
Brit Award-winning singer-songwriter Ella Eyre, 32, will be joined by her childhood friend Nana. Eyre rose to fame after collaborating with Rudimental on their number one single Waiting All Night, which won the Brit Award for Best British Single at the 2014 Brit Awards. She posted to her Instagram stories: 'Remember when I disappeared offline for a bit earlier this year… it's about to become clear.'
Veteran presenter and Eurovision star take part
TV presenter Jeff Stelling, 71, best known for hosting Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports, will take part alongside his son Matt. Stelling most recently presented the Talksport breakfast show with Ally McCoist.
Sam Ryder, the Space Man singer behind one of the UK's most successful Eurovision songs, will travel with his best mate and tour manager Kaz. His 2022 song Space Man is the highest-scoring UK entrant in Eurovision history with 466 points, won the jury vote and came second. Ryder, recently seen on stage in Jesus Christ Superstar, teased the show on X, writing, 'see you soon bbc1.'
Route and production reaction
The BBC confirmed the race will cover 7,500km, with contestants equipped with only a map, a budget of £26 per person per day and their wits. Teams will start in Kuching, in the Malaysian state of Sarawak in Northwest Borneo, then traverse prehistoric jungles and the heartlands of Borneo to reach five checkpoints across three countries and two continents, ultimately aiming for the southern tip of Australia and the finish line in Melbourne.
Tim Harcourt, Chief Creative Officer at Studio Lambert, said: 'This year's pairs navigate a journey that lays bare two extremes of today's world. We can't wait to share how they get on. Contestants give unfiltered and honest reactions to the experiences they face that are as demanding as they are joyful. That's so rare on television and it's clear audiences love seeing their favourite stars deal with these daring challenges in spectacular worlds.'
Jasmyn McGuile, Commissioning Editor at BBC Factual Entertainment and Events, added: 'Audiences have been asking when the Race might reach Australia, so we are delighted that they will be able to experience this unique journey for the first time in Celebrity Race Across the World. With an adventurous start in Borneo's Sarawak rainforest, another series first, it makes for an unmissable opener for this year's celebrity teams.'
Celebrity Race Across The World returns to BBC One and iPlayer this autumn, with Race Across The World returning next spring.
