‘I won Race Across The World and my life completely flipped on its head’
Alfie Watts won Race Across The World in 2024 and has shared insight into his experience on the BBC show.
Alfie and Owen appeared on Race Across The World in 2024(Image: Studio Lambert/BBC)
A former Race Across The World champion has shared a glimpse into what it’s truly like to participate in the BBC programme.
The BBC contest is set to return for its sixth series this Thursday, featuring five adventurous teams embarking on an epic journey.
They will be racing over 12,000km across Italy, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, trekking from Palermo in Sicily all the way to the secluded village of Hatgal on the shores of Lake Hövsgöl, in northern Mongolia.
With no access to smartphones, internet, bank cards and a daily budget of just £26 per person, they’ll be pushed to their limits in a bid to secure the £20,000 prize.
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Alfie Watts, who knows this experience intimately, completed the challenge alongside his best mate Owen Wood in 2024. The duo journeyed more than 14,000km from Japan to Indonesia over a span of 50 days, clinching victory by a mere eight minutes after an emotional voyage, reports the Mirror.
Since participating in the show, Alfie has been reflecting on his time on the programme, turning his attention to producing travel content on his social media page.
In a post earlier this month, he reflected on how his life had changed after applying and becoming a contestant on Race Across The World, saying it “triggered a series of events that helped me surpass my wildest dreams”.
Sharing a career update, Alfie announced that he would now be a co-host of a spin-off programme, airing after the main show.
“This is something Alfie at 15 would not be able to comprehend. And I’ll be honest, Alfie at 22 can’t quite believe it either,” he said.
He went on: “As a kid who never travelled, and missed out on a lot, I get to live a life that full and free. But it’s been a real rollercoaster to get here, and probably one that many haven’t seen. I think it’s really condescending when people say ‘it’s the stuff you don’t see’ because I do have the best job ever, but my word it’s been tough to get here!
“It’s testament to never giving up, knocking down doors that wouldn’t open and having the backing of the most generous and supportive following I could ever have wished for. You’ve been with me every step of the journey so far, and I can’t wait to take you on the next chapter with me.”
In the post, Alfie explained how he left school and chose not to go to university, working double shifts at Sainsbury’s and as a teacher as he saved for travelling. For his 20th birthday, he bought his dream holiday to Rio de Janeiro with best friend Owen, and applied for Race Across The World “as a joke”, despite never having seen the show.
He had no idea he would go on to appear on the series, win the competition and then travel around the world as a content creator.
Alongside sharing his next travel adventures on social media, Alfie has been using his platform to give an insight into his experience on Race Across The World.
In one post, Alfie, who has been open about his mental health struggles, clarified one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the series. He wrote: “Let’s address the ‘Sob Story’ agenda that gets thrown about regarding Race Across The World… in short – the fact you need one is utter nonsense.
“When you apply, producers need to understand WHY you should do it, and that is driven through purpose. Whether it’s because you’ve had a fractious relationship with the person you’re doing it with or whether it was your dad’s dying wish for you to see the world. The semantics don’t matter. The purpose? That’s what matters.
“And most importantly, when this show airs in April this year for its 6th series, please don’t diminish people’s lives down to a simple sob story. People don’t choose the tales they tell, and Race Across The World isn’t an adequate substitute for tragedy in someone’s life, it simply drives their why.”
He urged potential applicants to have a “purpose” for applying, saying there had to be a “reason” behind it.
After losing his mum at a young age, and talking openly about the loss he faced and grief he’s struggled with, he went on: “Another thing, my mum did not sacrifice herself so I could be on a TV show 15 years later, this is the reality I have lived for the past 18 years. It’s not a sob story, it’s who I am as an individual.”
Reflecting on his one year-anniversary since finishing Race Across The World, Alfie shared in late 2024 how grateful he was for the opportunity and where it had taken him in life.
He told his followers: “This time last year I had no idea how my life would change. How I’d have 76 (SEVENTY SIX) thousand people caring about my stupid life. Things I’d dreamed of doing as a little kid I’m currently living everyday.
“I am so grateful for everything that’s happened, for having the greatest best mate in the world (Owen doesn’t even know it was one year ago and is spending our one year anniversary w his girlfriend in the Philippines) and having the greatest support network around me.
“My life completely flipped on its head a year ago, and I had no idea in these photos what was coming. Thank YOU to everyone reading this for making my dreams come true, thank you @owen.wood02 for everything we’ve done together, and I promise I will never lose sight of where I came from or where that boy in the last slide would dream his 21 year old self would be. I have huge plans, but the love you’ve shown me since I first appeared on your screens 7 months ago is just crazy to me.”
Race Across The World airs Thursday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
