Rob Brydon is set to host the BBC's latest reality series, Destination X, a travel game show where contestants are transported across Europe in total ignorance of their location. The show, based on a Belgian hit, features 13 participants living on a coach for a month, competing to identify where they are. The worst at guessing are eliminated, while viewers are encouraged to play along.
The show's 'X bus' is a jet-black vehicle with obscured windows, making it impossible for contestants to see outside. Challenges include being locked in boxes in village squares, peeping through tiny windows, or dangling from ropes 2,000 metres above sea level to hunt for clues. The intense environment often leads to heated arguments among contestants, drawing comparisons to The Traitors meets Race Across the World.
Executive producer Dan Adamson revealed the show's devious tactics, such as using three sets of identical twins as fake airport staff to disorient contestants. In the first episode, participants wait in a packed German airport where all other passengers and staff are actors, with details like fake arguments and PA announcements serving as clues. Contestants are also blindfolded and flown around in a helicopter for an hour before boarding the bus.
Brydon, who joined a mock journey in London for a preview, described the show as fiendish. 'The clues are there,' he said, impersonating David Frost. The series promises a mix of breathtaking landscapes and Machiavellian mind tricks, with Brydon adding, 'I would be terrible at this!'
