Race Across The World winners Alfie and Owen have admitted that they ‘absolutely rinsed’ the budget during their luxury hotel stays while on the show.
Trainee air traffic controller Alfie and trainee pilot, Owen, both 21, won the latest series of the hugely-popular BBC show.
Five teams of two were tasked with racing to the island of Lombok in Indonesia via a series of checkpoints in the gruelling eight week challenge.
Each leg of the show is split up by the checkpoints where they get to regroup and stay in fancy hotels. These hotel stays are not filmed to feature on the show.
And the friends from St Albans have now told how they fully took advantage of the luxurious accommodation and at one hotel in Cambodia even had 24-hour room service.
Race Across The World winners Alfie and Owen have admitted that they ‘absolutely rinsed’ the budget during their luxury hotel stays while on the show
Trainee air traffic controller Alfie and trainee pilot, Owen, both 21, won the latest series of the hugely-popular BBC show
Alfie told The Times: ‘Well, we definitely got our washing done, but we didn’t go nuts anywhere, except in Phnom Penh, where it was 24-hour room service.
‘We had a three-tiered trolley delivered to us. It was just food. Lots of food. It was about 2am and I was on top of the world.’
Owen then added: ‘That was ridiculous. We absolutely rinsed the budget!’
It comes after last month previous contestants and crew members lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes secrets of the show.
Series four winner Alfie, 20, confirmed that the teams can stay in secret hotels for up to two days at each checkpoint – which isn’t aired during the episodes.
Alfie spilled the gossip in a Facebook group dedicated to the show, revealing that they had to stay in the hotel for ‘safety reasons’.
He said: ‘It does change depending on finishing times to make sure nobody leaves at an utterly ridiculous time – mainly for safety’.
Meanwhile, series two contestant Jen, who took part with her husband Rob, also revealed the teams are accompanied by members of the crew at all times.
Each leg of the show is split up by checkpoints where they get to regroup and stay in fancy hotels. These hotel stays are not filmed to feature on the show
Five teams of two were tasked with racing to the island of Lombok in Indonesia via a series of checkpoints, with friends Alfie and Owen ultimately taking the win (pictured L-R Stephen & Viv, Sharon & Brydie, Eugenie & Isabel, James & Betty & Owen & Alfie)
And the friends from St Albans have now told how they fully took advantage of the luxurious accommodation and at one hotel in Cambodia even had 24-hour room service
While she insisted there ‘isn’t much viewers don’t get to see’, the two producers who travel with the teams aren’t revealed to viewers on screen.
Jen also revealed that there is a ‘local fixer’ and a medic travelling about an hour behind them in case of an emergency.
She told the i: ‘You are always with two crew members and a medic, with a local fixer close behind. The crew really don’t contribute, despite what people think – however nonsensical our decisions might be.
‘I remember crossing into a different time zone and almost missing a vital transport link, and the crew just had to roll with it. It’s the same with our jobs directory – all genuine jobs on offer in the local areas, simply compiled.’
When asked if it was really as hard as it seems on screen, Jen said: ‘People always ask me if it was really as hard as it seemed. In short, YES. I was convinced that once the cameras stopped rolling, they’d wheel out the buffet cart and hand over the keys to the luxury hotel, but heck was I wrong. I really did have to sleep in that hammock. In my case, ignorance was bliss.’
Jen told how the crew travelled with them constantly and there always had to be space for them on various points of transport such as buses.
She explained that they were only able to travel if at least one member of the crew was able to come with them, but insisted this never impacted their route.
Executive producer Mark Saben told the BBC: ‘They had to do the same journey as them, sleeping alongside them on the bus.
‘So they were almost like a family, with its ups and downs. And while we had done recces, the teams found bits of the world which were totally surprising.’
Mark informed Broadcast that visas and vaccines for ‘every conceivable country’ are arranged in advance, with ‘every likely bus and train option, cost and connection’ being researched.
He said ‘It’s all very well doing it theoretically, looking at timetables and things’ before adding ‘but until someone does it for real, you don’t know where the difficulties might lie.
‘We drew up protocols that set rules for how the teams could hitchhike, travel at night and cross borders safely.’
Despite having a fixer and a medic at hand, Mark revealed that they are instructed to keep their distance to make their experience feel authentic.
He said ‘How they made their journey was up to them. This meant as a production we had to react to their decisions, however nonsensical.
‘It was a nightmare for production management as the competing contributors decided how and where to go. You cannot underestimate how challenging the journey could be at times.’
MailOnline reached out to Race Across The World for comment at the time.
The final episode saw a nail-biting ending to the 15,000km race across Eastern Asia as two pairs approached the finish line neck and neck.
After arriving at the second last checkpoint in Jakarta within just 12 minutes of each other, both Alfie and Owen and Isabel and Eugenie were eager to get out in front for the final leg.
Both pairs met each other multiple times on their journey from Jakarta to Lombok, before needing to travel by boat to a tiny Island off the coast at the exact same time.
After finding speedboat rides, the pairs darted off across the sea before getting ready to run the rest of the way on foot.
The race ended with a dramatic sprint along the beach as best friends Alfie and Owen reached the check-in book in first place, claiming the £20,000 prize.
Closely behind the school friends were mother and daughter duo Eugenie and Isabel, who finished just eight minutes later.
In third place were beloved brother and sister Betty and James – who arrived a day later after overcoming a dwindling budget and mishaps.
Married couple Stephen and Viv finished in fourth, with a whopping £180 left of their budget.
The final episode saw a nail-biting ending to the 15,000km race across Eastern Asia as two pairs approached the finish line neck and neck (Isabel and Eugenie who came second)
Alfie said: ‘Well, we definitely got our washing done, but we didn’t go nuts anywhere, except in Phnom Penh, where it was 24-hour room service’
Owen then added: ‘That was ridiculous. We absolutely rinsed the budget!’
The dramatic final scenes saw Alfie and Owen dart along the beach in Indonesia surrounded by gleaming tropical waters before arriving at the book to find they had won the race.
‘We’ve done it,’ they screamed, before hugging each other.
Owen said proudly: ‘We came, and we saw, and we succeeded.’
‘Best moment of our lives,’ Alfie added. ‘Undeniably. Can’t believe it.’
Eugenie and Isabel opened the book to find they had been beaten by the boys by minutes.
