Race Across The World winners cross the finish line in final leg

Warning: This article reveals the winners of Race Across the World.

Mother and son Caroline and Tom Bridge have crossed the finish line first to become the winners of the fifth series of Race Across The World.

The BBC One show saw five pairs race a distance of about 8,700 miles (14,000km) between the Great Wall of China, north of Bejing, and Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of India.

Caroline said: “We must never doubt ourselves again, ever, ever, ever.”

Tom added: “It’s a really good feeling. I’m lost for words. I can’t believe it: 51 days racing through countries that I never thought I’d go to, and never thought we’d come this far, and never thought we’d achieve so much. And I’ve never been prouder of my mum.”

The winning duo will share a cash prize of £20,000.

Teams had to pass seven checkpoints in China, Nepal and India on their route to the finish line.

As usual, all pairs were banned from travelling by air, and instead were given a budget of £1,140 per person for the journey – the cost of a one-way plane ticket.

They could not use their smartphones or bank cards while seeking out their own transport, food and accommodation.

According to TV ratings body Barb, just under six million viewers per episode have been tuning in or catching up on iPlayer within a seven day period.

This means the series was the most watched programme in the UK across all channels and streaming platforms during each week it aired, with the exception of the week the Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast.

The mother-and-son duo thought the show would be a unique opportunity to create treasured memories.

Both are from Hargrave near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, but only Tom, 21, had travelling experience as he had spent about 10 months in South America and Europe.

During the show, Caroline, 60, opened up about how she felt she had, in recent years, lost her identity outside being a mother and a wife.

Meanwhile, her son found new confidence when he told strangers about his cerebral palsy for the first time.

The pair watched the final episode with an audience of family and friends, who cheered when they reached the finish line first.

Until that point, they had kept it a secret from everybody they knew.

Speaking to BBC One’s Morning Live on Thursday, Tom recalled how he would try to quickly and subtly change the topic when people asked about the show.

Caroline added: “We had to not think about it too much unless we were alone, then we’d talk about it incessantly.”

The duo are now planning to head to Kazakhstan for a month of backpacking.

“No idea why,” said Tom. “No idea what Kazakhstan has to offer, but we loved when we did Race that we had no idea where we were going.”

Both felt their experience on the show had brought them closer together, but for Caroline it also gave her a new confidence.

She explained: “Its made me feel stronger inside, as though I can now cope with more.

“I’m not as frightened of being lonely and I feel I can reach out and speak to people, whereas before I would hide behind some sort of mask that we all expect of somebody my age I think.”

New episodes of a celebrity version are due some time in 2025 or 2026, according to the BBC’s annual plan.

A reunion episode featuring this years cast is set for next Wednesday on BBC One.

The show is produced for the BBC by Studio Lambert, who are also behind The Traitors, Squid Game, Gogglebox and Squid Game: The Challenge.

Applications for the next series of Race Across The World are open until 6 July.