Race Across the World stars reveal what they packed in bid to win

Race Across the World stars have shared what they packed inside their huge rucksacks in a bid to try win the BBC show.

Siblings Betty and James said Race Across the World is tougher than they could have ever prepared for. There's the tiredness, the lack of food and of course the constant travelling.

Arguably, one of the most gruelling challenges the stars face is carrying their heavy rucksacks - often running with them when making a beeline for the checkpoint.

Isabel confessed that she had overpacked. The mother and daughter pairing had packed two of everything - just incase. "Our bags were very heavy because we were over prepared," she admitted. Meanwhile, her mum Eugenie said: "We had some belly laughs with those rucksacks."

Meanwhile, retired couple Stephen and Viv had many tricks to try and make their bags lighter - including Stephen cutting out the labels in his underwear.

So, what exactly did the contestants pack as they set their sights on the £20,000 prize fund? More importantly, however, were any of the items useful in their bid to try and win the show?

Calculator

Race Across the World stars revealed this was the item they wish they packed.

Stephen said: "I know exactly what we should have taken and didn’t. And that is a calculator." He explained: "Trying to work out currencies, change of this. We had three currencies on the go at one point."

Viv immediately agreed with her husband. She said: "I think it didn't occur to us to take one because we're so used to having a calculator on your phone. It just didn't occur to us to bring one."

In a separate interview, Alfie highlighted bringing a calculator would have been a game-changer for him and his best friend Owen on the race. He made the big reveal when advising potential 2025 contestants on how to prepare for the BBC show.

"Take a calculator," he said. "Think outside the box because you forget that because obviously when we do maths at home, we just swipe down on our phone and the calculator is there. A calculator would have been really helpful."

This season, there was one pairing who had already thought of a calculator. Eugenie and Isabel said having a calculator definitely gave them an upper hand in the race. Isabel said: "Budget wise, it really was helpful."

Cue cards

As well as a calculator - plus notebooks and pens, Eugenie and Isabel came prepared with cue cards. Eugenie explained her reasoning behind why this was an essential item for them to pack for the race.

She said: "I work with children with special needs and disabilities, visuals is a thing. And I just thought that's something that would be universal. So we actually made visuals - including of different modes of transport that we might need."

Many people watching the show were impressed when Isabel whipped out the cue cards on a long bus journey in Japan and she begun to use them to start learning Japanese with the help of a local on the bus.

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Shampoo bars

Eugenie and Isabel weren't the only contestants with creative and genius ideas for their packing. While this idea wouldn't have helped towards the winning aspect of the show, the contestants were thinking outside of the box to make sure they were comfortable during the trip.

And when it came to comfort, Viv and Stephen had plenty of tricks. They were keen to pack shampoo and conditioner bottles for the journey but found they were way too heavy in liquid form.

In the end, they come up with the idea of taking a shampoo and conditioner bar instead. Viv said: "We just took a little shampoo bar which made about 30 grams and same the conditioner."

Entertainment

Again, the entertainment factor wouldn't necessarily help the stars win but it certainly helped ease the boredom on those long train and bus rides.

Alfie admitted he really struggled with the boredom on Race Across the World. He said: "I got really bored. I think I haven't really said this enough when I've been asked questions about it. But the worst part is genuinely the boredom."

Meanwhile, Isabel said having some form of entertainment was a must-have for the journey. "Just having something to have a bit of downtime," she said. "I had books. Mum used an MP3 player."