Race Across The World star Margo Oakley has responded to speculation about how she and Mark Blythen made it to the finish line, after almost being forced to quit the show when they ran out of money
During their last moments in the sixth season of the popular BBC series, the pair, who are in-laws through Mark's late wife and Margo's late sister, were considerably behind the rest of the field in the globe-spanning race.
Despite a cliffhanger episode suggesting that they may have to leave the series, the duo finished in fourth place in last week's final, though they were seen crossing the finish line with little explanation as to how they managed it.
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This led to online speculation that producers may have helped the pair in their journey, but Margo has released a statement on Instagram quashing these rumours, as well as confirming how they completed the final leg of their adventure.
"A few people have asked how on Earth me and Mark made it to Hatgal with so little money left," she began. "Mongolia was incredibly tough for all of us. By Day 51 we were cold, exhausted, a bit delirious but absolutely determined to get to that finish line somehow.
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"At that stage we genuinely had no idea where the other teams were, but for us it had now stopped being about winning and became about simply finishing the race together for Julia - this meant everything to us."
In the post, Margo explained that she and Mark left Shine Ider, and subsequently spent hours hitchhiking in minus-13-degree weather. They then learned about a shared minibus heading to Murun, a city several hours from their final destination of Hatgal.
Margo said the pair persuaded the driver to take them all the way "using what can only be described as optimism, negotiation and desperate energy", before adding that they "crossed the finish line with roughly £36 left".
"And just to clear up one thing because I know there's been speculation online, if you've watched the reunion you will know production cannot step in to help unless there's a genuine medical or safety emergency," she clarified, calling it a "real race".
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"Not every part of every journey makes the final edit because there's just too much footage across all the teams," she noted, before concluding the post by thanking the driver and viewers for helping them complete their "amazing journey".
The latest edition of the BBC series was won by Jo Diop and Kush Burman, who finished three hours and two minutes ahead of their nearest competitors. The pair, who are childhood best friends, completed their journey with just 2% of their money left.
Race Across the World airs on BBC One and streams on BBC iPlayer.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
