How posh is ‘too posh’ to win Race Across The World?
I didn’t think there was an answer, but according to an alarming amount of viewers, there is a limit – and Caroline and Tom Bridge are it.
Against the odds, the mother and son duo beat four other teams of two to win £20,000 and become crowned the fifth Race Across The World winners.
Travelling 14,000 kilometres from The Great Wall of China to Kanniyakumari, the southernmost point of mainland India, without a phone or credit cards, they just had instinct and the kindness of strangers to guide them.
The charm of Race Across The World is all about the casting.
Yes, the race and the spectacular places explored are magical too, but ultimately, without a cast of ordinary people who turn out to be quite extraordinary, Race Across The World has no heart and wouldn’t draw some of the BBC’s highest viewing figures each week. Five series in and its popularity only appears to be growing.
On paper, Caroline and Tom are prime Race Across The World candidates. Caroline gave up her career to raise a family and said until the show came along: ‘I didn’t know what life would offer me.’
Her self-esteem was shattered and she needed to prove to herself she could be more than ‘just a mum’.
Her son Tom had his own barriers to overcome too. He left school without any GCSEs, expelled for smoking cannabis, diagnosed with ADHD and said he was essentially failed by the education system that didn’t fit his learning style.
During the race, he also opened up about living with cerebral palsy, unable to use his right hand in the same way as his left. Tom has spent his whole life feeling shame because of his condition, even keeping it a secret from some of his close friends, but told millions of viewers and is now feeling less alone.
They both had a lot to prove to themselves – they did that and then some.
The thing is though, they’re posh. They speak with RP accents and Tom calls his parents ‘mummy and daddy’.
They’re so posh that they’ve received more backlash than any other Race Across The World contestant before them because, apparently, regardless of their personal journey throughout the race – their growth, determination and most importantly, the fact they just played the race better than anyone else when it mattered – they didn’t deserve to win.
The reaction to Caroline and Tom’s victory has been both appalling and eye-opening. I saw critics complain that Tom was obviously going to spend the prize money ‘on a business class ticket home’.
Far from it, he’s going to be investing some of it into starting his new business, teaming up with a family he met in India to import their rugs and sell them in the UK, with the money going back to the local community.
Rather than Caroline’s successful journey of self-discovery being something to be applauded, she was accused of turning her ‘privileged life into a sob story’.
Granted, I can’t relate to what she’s been through, but her experience is one that will resonate with so many others who put their family before their careers and later asked themselves: ‘Who am I?’
Perhaps they have more money than most but I’m not privy to their personal finances and neither are the people who are making assumptions they can’t back up. But this isn’t just about money, it’s specifically about being posh.
Brian and Melvyn were by far the most popular team this series and their story was perhaps the most compelling. Brian was sent off to boarding school while Melvyn, his older brother, stayed at home and subsequently didn’t receive the same education; they became divided without any explanation from their parents.
They captured everything golden about Race Across The World. They, by their own admission, were about to enter their ‘twilight years’ and took on the race to rebuild their relationship, which for most of their life had been unnecessarily fractured.
It was like watching a comical road trip movie packed with so much heart and humour, they were impossible not to root for.
But Brian wasn’t shy about boasting that he was used to a lavish lifestyle, a regular business class flyer with a penchant for five-star hotels and luxury travel. I haven’t seen anyone suggest he wouldn’t have been a worthy winner.
Race Across The World isn’t a public vote; the most deserving winner isn’t even a matter of opinion. The winner is the team who gets to the finish line first.
We all have our favourite teams. I actually would have been happy for anyone to have won this series and was gutted for the other teams who didn’t, but I was rooting for Caroline and Tom at the final hurdle.
They started the race completely useless, lagging behind their rivals by hours and finishing the first leg in last place.
The moment they left China though and touched down in Nepal, something switched in them both, particularly Caroline, and they just became unstoppable.
They grasped how to embrace the culture and use it to their advantage, building relationships with locals and seamlessly zooming through countries at an impressive speed. They were completely transformed by the time they got to the final and that, for me, is what makes the best Race Across The World journey.
Race Across The World has never been a rags-to-riches story. It’s a game that tests relationships and, hopefully, makes them stronger. The stronger they become the better chance of winning.
I think there’s something particularly special about a mother and son taking on an adventure together, recapturing the bond they once had before children grow up and find their independence. After watching Caroline and Tom, I want to head on an adventure with my own mum, something so few of us ever get to do before it’s too late.
They were inspiring, so wonderfully kind, determined, and such deserving winners because there is no such thing as being ‘too posh’ to win Race Across The World.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
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