It's changed our perspective. We're just two Scouse kids, but we proved we're capable.
Two nineteen-year-old friends from Liverpool, Jo Diop and Kush Burman, arrived first at the edge of a Mongolian lake in May 2026, completing a 12,000-kilometre journey from Sicily without planes, smartphones, or bank cards — and winning £20,000 in the process. Their victory on BBC One's Race Across the World was not merely a competition result but a passage through grief, self-discovery, and the quiet courage it takes to move through the world with almost nothing. In a format that strips away modern convenience to reveal something older and more human, two young men from the same city found out who they were becoming.
- With only £1,297 each and no digital lifelines, five pairs raced 12,000km from Sicily to Mongolia — a journey that punished hesitation and rewarded resourcefulness.
- Jo and Kush hit a crisis point early, falling to last place at the elimination checkpoint and facing the real possibility of being sent home before the race had truly begun.
- At a judo gym in Kazakhstan, Kush broke down recalling his stepdad Matt, who died by suicide during lockdown when Kush was fourteen — the race becoming an unexpected space for grief he had long carried.
- Pouring drinks in a Mongolian bar to afford a taxi, the pair scraped together the final push and crossed the finish line in Hatgal three hours ahead of every other team.
- With 7.4 million viewers watching and applications for series seven already open, the show continues to hold a mirror up to what people discover about themselves when stripped of comfort and certainty.
On a Thursday afternoon in the snow-covered Mongolian town of Hatgal, Jo Diop and Kush Burman — nineteen-year-old best friends from Liverpool — collapsed together at the finish line of Race Across the World, three hours ahead of their nearest rivals. They had travelled 12,000 kilometres from Palermo, Sicily, tracing the ancient Silk Road through Greece, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan before descending into the Khangai Mountains. No planes, no smartphones, no bank cards — just £1,297 each and whatever they could earn along the way.
The race had not been without its stumbles. Early on, they found themselves in last place at the halfway elimination checkpoint, a jolt that Jo described as a genuine wake-up call. In the final stretch, they worked briefly in a Mongolian bar, pouring drinks to fund a taxi ride to the finish. Their only moment of comic defeat came when they failed to name all four Beatles — a small embarrassment for two Liverpudlians.
Beneath the competition, the journey carried real emotional weight. At a judo gym in Kazakhstan, Kush was moved to tears by memories of his stepdad Matt, who died by suicide during the pandemic lockdown when Kush was just fourteen. 'I really wish I could show him who I am now,' he said. The race had given him room to sit with a grief he had not fully faced.
Kush plans to use his share of the £20,000 prize to help his mother buy a house. Jo hopes to travel to Senegal to explore his roots. Behind them, Molly and Andrew from Northern Ireland finished second, Manchester siblings Katie and Harrison third, and English in-laws Mark and Margo fourth — the latter pair racing in memory of Mark's wife Julia, who died in 2022. 'We haven't won the race,' Margo said at the finish, 'but we've won our race.'
The series drew 7.4 million viewers for its opening episode, cementing the show's place as one of the BBC's most enduring formats. Applications for series seven are open until the end of May 2026.
On Thursday afternoon, two nineteen-year-old friends from Liverpool crossed a finish line in the snow-covered town of Hatgal, in northern Mongolia, three hours ahead of everyone else. Jo Diop and Kush Burman had just won the sixth series of Race Across the World, a BBC One competition that sent five pairs on a 12,000-kilometre journey across Europe and Asia without planes, smartphones, or bank cards. They had started in Palermo, Sicily, and traced the ancient Silk Road eastward through Greece, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and finally into the Khangai Mountains and down to the shores of Lake Khövsgöl. When they arrived at the finish, they collapsed into the snow together, celebrating what had been eight months of planning and racing since they applied in January 2025, just after finishing their A-levels.
The competition gave each contestant £1,297 at the start—the cost of a one-way plane ticket—and nothing more. They had to find their own transport, negotiate for food and shelter, and work odd jobs when money ran short. In the final episode, Jo and Kush earned extra cash by working briefly in a Mongolian bar, pouring drinks to pay for a taxi ride. The only real stumble came when they encountered a statue of The Beatles and couldn't name all four members. George Harrison was the one who got away. For two Liverpudlians, it was a small embarrassment they could live with.
Kush said he would use his share of the £20,000 prize to help his mother buy a house. Jo spoke of travelling to Senegal to understand his own roots. But the race had done something deeper than hand them money. "It's had an impact on us, it's changed our perspective," Jo reflected. The journey had tested them in ways they hadn't anticipated. Early on, they found themselves in last place at the elimination checkpoint—the halfway point where the slowest pair would be sent home. That moment of being behind everyone else shook them. "The stress was high, because it was like, go hard to go home at this point," Jo said. "That feeling of being last is horrible, and I think it was like a wake-up call."
During the race, there were lighter moments. They played basketball and attended an evening of Mongolian throat singing. But at a judo gym in Kazakhstan, Kush had a moment that cut deeper. The gym brought back memories of his late stepdad, Matt, who died by suicide when Kush was fourteen, during the pandemic lockdown. Viewers saw him in tears as he processed the loss. "I really wish I could show him who I am now," he said. Later, reflecting on how the public had responded to that vulnerability, he spoke about how difficult it was to move beyond the light-hearted memories and sit with the actual grief. The race had given him space to do that.
They beat four other pairs to the finish. Molly and Andrew, a daughter-and-father team from Northern Ireland, came second. Katie and Harrison, siblings from Manchester, finished third. Mark and Margo, in-laws from England, completed the race in fourth place, having entered to honour the memory of Julia, Mark's wife and Margo's sister, who died from myelofibrosis in 2022. "We haven't won the race, but we've won our race," Margo said at the finish. Cousins Puja and Roshni from London had been eliminated earlier in the competition.
Race Across the World remains one of the BBC's most successful formats. The opening episode of this series drew 7.4 million viewers across live broadcast and catch-up platforms. The show, produced by Studio Lambert—the company behind The Traitors and Gogglebox—has spawned celebrity versions and won a Bafta in 2020. Applications for series seven opened immediately after the finale and will close on May 31, 2026. All six series are available on BBC iPlayer. For Jo and Kush, two Scouse kids who set out to prove they were capable of more than anyone might have expected, the race is over. For everyone else, the application window is still open.
Citações Notáveis
I hope we did Liverpool proud, big up Scousers! First win for Liverpool.— Jo and Kush at the finish line
It's had an impact on us, it's changed our perspective. We're just two Scouse kids, but I think this has proved we are more than capable.— Jo and Kush reflecting on the race
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
What made them different from the other pairs? Was it just speed, or something else?
They were the youngest in the competition—both nineteen, fresh out of school. That hunger probably mattered. But they also had to dig deeper emotionally. Being in last place at the elimination checkpoint could have broken them. Instead, it woke them up.
The moment with Kush at the judo gym—that felt like it shifted something for him during the race. Did winning the money matter as much as that?
The money matters. His mum needs help with housing. Jo wants to go to Senegal. But what he said afterward was telling: the public's response to his grief was "heart-warming." He'd been carrying that loss alone for years. The race gave him permission to feel it in front of millions.
They couldn't use phones or bank cards. How does that change you as a person?
You become dependent on strangers. You have to talk to people, negotiate, ask for help. You can't hide behind a screen. For two teenagers, that's a different kind of education than school gives you.
Did they seem like they were racing, or like they were experiencing something?
Both. They played basketball, went to throat singing performances. But Kush said the activities felt "genuine"—real people, real places. The race wasn't just a competition. It was a way to see the world and see themselves in it.
What happens to them now?
They go home to Liverpool as winners. They've got money, they've got a story, and they've got proof that two kids from their city can do something extraordinary. Series seven applications just opened. Someone else will be standing in the snow soon, trying to do what they did.