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director Tim usly there is a prize at stake. But everybody who takes part understands that they want to balance the experience of what they’re seeing with the race aspect.
“And, of course, if you raced incredibly hard and you were sitting on bus after bus without a break it would be physically so difficult.
“They’re also on a limited budget so they have to take time out from the race to earn cash. And other times they can’t get further because their train or coach isn’t leaving until the next day.”
Contestants in the latest series have been challenged with completing a gruelling journey from Mexico City to Ushuaia in Argentina at the bottom of South America.
More than 40,000 applied to take part and producers picked two couples, a nephew and uncle, a brother and sister, and a mother and son.
They reckon viewers will be just as fascinated by them as the amazing landscapes featured.
BBC boss Michael Jochnowitz said:
“It’s a bloody tough race. It’s really hard and they were doing it for 50-odd days.
“It’s a real test of relationships and friendships and endurance. Not everyone is capable of doing this show.”
Tim added: “We wanted people who are at an interesting crossroads in their lives for whatever reason. Those are the stories that make the emotional journey they go on even more interesting.”
Making the series happen proved a logistical nightmare for the show’s production team.
They had staff based at locations around the world to ensure everything ran smoothly and no-one got into trouble.
Lucy said: “We use a lot of Whatsapp. I can’t explain how important it was for us. Phones were pinging every second of the day!”
Tim added: “There was so much to contend with. Every two minutes there was a new state of emergency happening somewhere. Countries were shutting down so routes had to be changed. It was like a house of cards.”