Race Across The World stars Margo Oakley and Mark Blythen have teased that they "will pull together as a team" in the finale of the BBC hit, after last week's cliffhanger saw them at risk of having to withdraw. The pair were considerably behind the rest of the pack, with very little money left.
The popular duo are in-laws, connected via Mark's late wife and Margo's late sister, Julia, who passed away in 2022.
Now, with the finale due tomorrow (21 May), they've admitted the most recent leg was their most challenging moment, admitting they were "devastated" to have found themselves at such a disadvantage so close to the finish line.
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Margo said: "When we realised we'd fallen behind this last leg, we were devastated. Because we were delayed and could not go on that night, we know we have fallen so far behind, and it almost feels like the chances of winning are disappearing."
She added: "We feel sad, and heavy, and we just want to be able to finish the race, but we know it’s going to cost us money which we don’t have lots of, but we will pull together as a team, and there is so much power in that."
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However, Mark explained their friendship has actually grown stronger as a result of the dire straits they found themselves in.
"Personally, I think that particular leg, leg seven, just being in that situation together, and having to pull together and work together, we just became very close friends," he said.
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"I think we have quite a deep friendship now from all we have been through together and I have a different sort of perspective on Margo now. She has deep strengths and commitment and I never realised or appreciated those before. She is there to support you and the support she gave me on this penultimate leg is amazing," he added.
On the possibility of finishing in first place, he said: "I think we will be shocked if we win, but we would like to show that age is not a barrier for things like this, you can compete with other people."
They face friends Jo Diop and Kush Burman, siblings Katie and Harrison Devine and father and daughter Molly and Andrew Clifford in the series' conclusion, which ends in Hatgal, Mongolia.
Race Across the World's finale airs on Thursday (21 May) at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who'll listen.
