Matt Stelling has spoken out to defend himself and his father, Jeff Stelling, after a difficult start on the latest series of BBC's Celebrity Race Across The World. In a post to the Race Across The World Reddit community, Matt addressed how the pair have come across on screen, including a health condition fans may have noticed.
Struggles on the Race
Jeff Stelling, the 71-year-old former Sky Sports Soccer Saturday presenter, has joined the show with his son Matt. The father-and-son duo are attempting to travel from Borneo to Australia by public transport for the price of a plane ticket, competing against the likes of Princess and Junior Price and singer Sam Ryder.
In the second episode, shown on Thursday, Jeff and Matt are seen taking a shared taxi that goes wrong. What should have been a lengthy cab ride turned into a gruelling 14-hour journey in a packed car that took them to completely the wrong destination, with stops to deliver parcels along the way. The pair are seen looking increasingly unhappy and uncomfortable, and a teaser for the next episode shows dad Jeff breaking down in tears.
Matt's Response to Fans
Posting to the Race Across The World Reddit community, Matt Stelling went public to defend how he and his dad have come across on the show so far. He said: "Hi guys, I'm Matt, one of the contestants on the show. I really appreciate the supportive comments, and totally appreciate that my dad and I are not everyone's cup of tea! I'm also elated that all of the wonderful competitors are being so warmly received!"
He added: "Just wanted to address if we come across a bit down in the dumps. First and foremost this was my dream to be able to take part in this show and I had actually applied to take part several years ago in the non-celebrity version as a massive fan of the show."
Matt continued: "I just wanted to comment on the fact that you must remember only a tiny fraction of what we film makes the edit, and we did struggle in the first two episodes, but that does not mean there were not moments of absolute joy and elation!"
He also noted: "Secondly please remember that dad is a 71 year old man and is double the age of anyone else competing so of course we're going to move slightly more slowly in the heat with heavy backpacks!"
Addressing His Health Condition
Matt then moved to address his health condition, saying: "Also anyone commenting on my eyes being a bit twitchy, I'm an incredibly nervous person and being in front of the camera (which is unnatural to me) heightened them even more which made my face move even more!"
He concluded: "Anyway, I really hope you enjoy the rest of the show and get to know us a little bit more!"
Fans of the show rallied behind Matt to show their support. User Luke_4686 said: "Hi Matt! Your dad has brought joy to myself and millions of football fans for decades. He's a true national treasure and we're loving seeing him (and you) in a different environment."
Another, u/derrenbrownisawizard, said: "Matt, I think your relationship with your dad is really interesting and speaks to a lot of relationships out there (granted not all our dads are as well known as yours). I'm a teacher too and my dad has had a very different job. I think you're both doing a wonderful job and it's great to see the both of you supporting each other."
And u/fraggle_ninja said: "Sorry you even had to post this, people can be quite judgemental on here (and all reality shows). You're doing grand and it's lovely to see your guys adventure and how cool to finally get on the show!"
BBC Celebrity Race Across The World continues on Wednesday, November 11 at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
