The BBC has launched Destination X, a brand new travel game show helmed by Rob Brydon that already has fans hooked.
Touted as the ‘adventure of a lifetime’, the high-stakes competition has a lucrative jackpot of £100,000 for the contestants who can answer the all-important question – ‘when in the world am I?’
The Gavin and Stacey star hosts this new reality format as 13 contestants are piled onto a bus with blacked out windows and fed clues to figure out exactly where they are.
At the end of each episode, the player who has the furthest guess is eliminated, meaning your Year 8 geography lessons may finally come in handy!
The BBC has a strong track record for compelling reality TV with shows like The Traitors and Race Across the World (both of which have been compared to this new one), drawing in millions of loyal viewers.
Now it looks as though Destination X is set to join their ilk.
What are fans saying about Destination X?
The first episode aired on BBC One yesterday, with the first two on BBC iPlayer for the audience’s viewing pleasure.
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The show has already made quite the impression on viewers who have become just as invested in the journey through Europe as our contestants who must mark X on the map (and hope for the best).
‘Destination X is brilliant, right up my street,’ Lee Scott wrote on X.
‘Omg I’m absolutely hooked… flipping brilliant program,’ Miriam agreed.
‘OBSESSED!!! Well done BBC, perfect show! Mix of Traitors and Race Across The World,’ Callum Turner declared.
Jeff Day called it an ‘excellent opening episode’ while youngy2mark shared it was ‘fantastic TV… The new Traitors’.
‘Confused. Addicted. And simultaneously finding a lot of the contestants quite attractive. Yep, Destination X is definitely the new The Traitors,’ Rory Cashin agreed.
It’s a sentiment echoed by the Gavin and Stacey host himself who said: ‘I’ve never done a TV show on this scale before.
‘I loved the idea of it, the combination of having to work out clues as to where you are and having to get on with each other. It struck me as the best bits of The Traitors with the best bits of Race Across the World.’
Although not everyone was as captivated, with one fan, Christabel, calling it a ‘bit too complicated and boring’ and Pink Giraffe agreeing it was ‘a bit of a slog’.
Metro columnist Adam Miller shares his three-star review of Destination X.
Needless to say, expectations have been high — but have they been met?
Not quite. At least not yet. I’ve seen the first three episodes, and while the start is rougher than an eight-hour delay at Euston in a heatwave – only to find you’re stuck on a train with Nigel Farage – it does start to show signs of promise.
The further down the road we go, the more promise the format shows. Tears are shed, stakes rise, the twists are meaty, there’s a rug pull that’s genuinely quite shocking, and by episode three, my interest had definitely piqued.
Hopefully, enough viewers stay on board long enough to feel the same.
You can read the full review here.
How to play along online to Destination X
As the entire show is a guessing game, the audience can even play along at home with the chance of winning the grandest prize of all – ‘bragging rights about their geographical guessing skills.’
The BBC has created a Destination X game site where you log in using your iPlayer account login. From there you can guess alongside the live episode of through catch up.
Just like the real-life contestants can compete for hints, those playing at home will also be given the chance at two mini games which will unlock further clues to the coveted geographical location.
‘One sees them test their knowledge of Europe across five travel trivia questions. The other shows users an image of a famous landmark, and asks you to locate it on a map,’ the BBC’s website explains.
You can access the site here.
When does Destination X air on the BBC?
Destination X airs every Wednesday and Thursday on BBC One at 9pm. The first two episodes are now available to stream on iPlayer.
Who are the Destination X contestants?
In total, the show (which also has a successful US version hosted by Jeffrey D Morgan) kicked off with 13 contestants.
These include: 23-year-old Economics graduate Ashvin; surf school director Ben, 42; Historian Chloe-Anne, 27; retired detective sergeant Claire, 51; and taxi driver Darren, 52.
Dawn, 33, is a care assistant who is hoping to win with her ‘slightly sneaky side’ while 62-year-old crime writer Deborah warns you have to have your ‘wits about you’.
The competition also features 23-year-old James, an e-commerce manager from Manchester and pilot Josh, 26, who is hoping to use the money to expand his flying skills.
Judith, 27, is a nuclear engineer from Bristol and Madhi, 22, is a content creator from London hoping to try his luck at the game.
Finally, we have endurance athlete Nick, 35, who is ready to ‘stab people in the back’ to get his hands on the cash and marketing executive Saskia, 25, who describes herself as a ‘determined, dedicated and devoted’.
From the get-go there are plenty of twists and turns (literally) for our contestants to grapple with – will they all have the stomach to deal with it or will motion sickness (and the game) get the better of them as they trundle along?
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