Celebrity Race Across the World Interview: Kelly Brook and her husband, Jeremy

Celebrity Race Across the World returns for a second series from 9pm on Wednesday 14 August on iPlayer and BBC One.

The four new famous faces embarking on an epic 12,500 km race of a lifetime are: broadcaster Jeff Brazier and his son, Freddy; actor Kola Bokinni and his cousin, Mary Ellen; broadcaster Kelly Brook and her husband, Jeremy and Radio 2 host Scott Mills and his husband (then fiancé), Sam.

Their journey begins in Belém, Northern Brazil – the gateway to the Amazon – and will pass through five checkpoints across the length of South America, to reach the finish line in the Andes, Frutillar in Southern Chile.

But how are they feeling about taking on the challenge? And what will the tactics be? We caught up with the teams to find out…

Why did you want to take part in the series?

Kelly: I think Jeremy and I were looking for a new adventure to go on together and we love to travel. And this just seemed like the dream to get to the airport and not know where you’re going. That is like a dream, to go to the airport, be given a plane ticket and just go.

Jeremy: It will be challenging though.

Kelly: It’s challenging, it’s exciting, you can’t really plan anything. And it’s just the authentic experience.

Jeremy: You don’t have this kind of experience every day. So, I think this was the right moment to do it.

Was the time that you’ll get to spend together one of the things that made you want to do this?

Jeremy: I think so. I’ll be with my wife 24/7, so I think it’s amazing.

Kelly: I think to have that quality time together and not be just having those kinds of boring conversations, like “Who’s walking the dog? “What should we have for dinner tonight?” To going “Should we get on this bus or that bus?” “Or should you do that job or this job?” It’s checking out of normal life and just living this parallel life of two backpackers. This was something we probably would have done if we were teenagers, but we never had that experience. So, we get to experience it together. So yes, it’s amazing.

Would you say that you’re adventurous?

Kelly: I would say when it comes to travelling, we are adventurous, but we definitely don’t step too far outside of our comfort zones in terms of we always travel safely.

Jeremy: We’re adventurous with limits maybe.

Kelly: Yeah, we like our home comforts. We like air conditioning when we get to a hotel, we like a minibar, we like an airport transfer, and all of those things are just going to be completely removed. But then when we’re actually in a place-

Jeremy: She wants to see everything, she wants to explore everything. I’m the same, but I do also like to relax.

How competitive are you both? Are you in this to win it?

Kelly: I think we’re definitely in the race to win it. We definitely want to give it our best shot. We’ve never done anything like this before so, we don’t know how good we’re going to be. And we don’t know who the other contestants are. So, it’s going to be, well we might have to change our game plan depending on what we see and how well we do. But at the moment, we pretty much know our strengths and our weaknesses.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Kelly: Jeremy’s really good at economising with the money. I’m really good at planning the route.

Jeremy: Kelly is more spontaneous.

Kelly: Jeremy will calm down all the terrible situations we’re going to find ourselves in, so he won’t add to the stress.

Jeremy: I think we’re a good combo together.

How do you feel about talking to strangers? Is one of you going to find that easier than the other?

Jeremy: This will be for Kelly because I’m more shy. I think I will speak to strangers because I don’t have a choice and because it’s a race and I want to win. But Kelly will be better than me… She’s more charming so she will speak in a better way.

Kelly: Yes, but I only speak English whereas Jeremy speaks Italian and French. So, he’s got more languages so sometimes I think he might be forced to communicate more than me because he might speak the language of wherever we’re going. That’ll be frustrating for me because I love to communicate and love to try and blag things. Whereas Jeremy is quite polite and shy and he’ll be like “I’m not asking for that” and I’ll be like “Just ask him if we can get an upgrade” and he’ll be like “Shhhh.” So, that’s going to be frustrating for me, to let him take the lead if we find ourselves somewhere that speaks his language.

How do you feel about travelling without mobile phones or credit cards?

Kelly: As a model, I travelled a lot without a phone so I’m used to that. But obviously, it’s been a long time.

Jeremy: We work with our phone 24/7. You wake up and check your emails, your messages. Now, everybody needs a phone, it’s a part of our lives, social media and everything. So, I’m quite happy to give my phone away and do a 5-week experience without it.

Kelly: We’ll actually have a conversation as a married couple!

What do you imagine your biggest challenge is going to be on the trip?

Kelly: I think it’ll be the different climate changes, packing well is going to be challenging. I think maybe the food might be challenging.

Jeremy: Yeah, the food. Not being ill. Good food is probably going to be hard. Maybe, sleeping in not dirty places?

Have you picked up any tips from previous series, celebrity or otherwise?

Kelly: Well the thing is, we watched the other series, and we looked at their routes and where they went and they’ve pretty much covered the whole world. And we’re like well, what’s left? And that’s how we’re trying to figure out where we’re going. But obviously, there are a million and one different routes you can take between checkpoints. So it’s very hard to plan anything.

Have you got a strategy?

Kelly: We haven’t actually got any strategies at all, have we?

Jeremy: We speak about this. I think we’ll probably have a strategy the first day when we arrive there. Because now it’s so easy to say a lot of things before the race, but when we arrive there, there will be something we never knew.

Kelly: Our strategy might be to save money we’re going to walk everywhere. And then half an hour of walking with a rucksack we will be exhausted. We don’t know how we’re going to feel. So, I think we know our strengths and weaknesses and we are just going to not have any expectations and just embrace whatever it is that’s thrown at us. And just try and be measured and calm. No panic.

Jeremy: Yeah, we need to give our best. That is the most important thing.

Have you packed anything for the trip that you can’t live without?

Kelly: I mean, to be honest, I’ve packed things that I never thought I’d ever need in my life. I’ve packed a mosquito net, memory pillow, fleece sleeping bag liner and a water filter. When I go online shopping now, all the things that are suggested to me have completely changed. I’m like oh my god, who am I?

Any luxuries or anything that will remind you of home?

Jeremy: I’ve got a Dragon Ball diary for notes and money.

Kelly: To be honest, there’s not a lot of room to put anything. I’ve got my little digital camera. I’m going to take loads of pictures, i’m going to try and get into my photography while we’re out there.

Would you say that you cope well under pressure?

Kelly: Jeremy definitely, because he’s an athlete. So, this is where his athleticism comes into play because he is good.

Jeremy: I’m used to a lot of pressure in my life so I think I can cope very well. Maybe after two days, I will cry. I think I will try to keep the situation as stress-free as I can.

Kelly: That’s where I’m going to rely on Jeremy a lot. I think he’s strong mentally and physically. I’m the weakest link.

What does your family think about you doing this together?

Jeremy: My mother and sister are happy because they’re coming to look after the dog. They’re excited for us.

Kelly: Everyone just wants to know where we’re going, where we’re starting. And obviously, we can’t tell anyone because we don’t know ourselves!

Are there any particular stories that stick out from times when you two have travelled before?

Kelly: We’ve definitely had that experience in Spain when we’ve been visiting friends, where we’ve been waiting for a train that is 45 minutes late. Our friends were like, “This is completely normal.” So, I think that’s going to be quite interesting to get used to other people’s schedules, and things not necessarily being on time or showing up. I’m not opposed to hitchhiking.

Where would be your dream destination to race through?

Kelly: I’d love to do the Greek islands where you just Island hop. I don’t think I’d want to race through it though – I think I’d want to absorb it all and the history.

Jeremy: It could be Mumbai, or China, Tokyo, maybe through North Korea! Or south. Or down to Australia, I think we’ll go to Singapore first.

What are you hoping to get out of the experience?

Kelly: I’m hoping to see parts of the world that I would never get to see. Parts of the world that are so off the beaten track. I think seeing the authentic place will be fantastic. I think just us being a couple together, creating new memories together will be amazing and spending that quality time. We haven’t had a honeymoon so this is like our honeymoon.

What a crazy honeymoon this will be!

What will be the most surprising thing viewers will learn about you?

Kelly: I would say so far, and its actually already been commented on, is how organised we are. Our packing is pretty organised, we’re trying to travel as light as possible, and that is part of our strategy. So I think people will be quite impressed by how clean and tidy we are.

Name the top 3 creature comforts you’ll struggle to live without?

Jeremy: I’ll miss cooking myself, and my shower.

Kelly: I’ll miss my beauty routine. I’ve tried to bring lotions and potions with me, but its so heavy, I’ve got like 4kg worth of make-up and serum, and I just know I’m going to have to whittle that down to hardly anything. 4kg is a lot when you’re carrying it on your back.

What’s the one reason you’ve chosen to undertake this challenge with Jeremy?

Kelly: I just really wanted us to go on an adventure together. And I just knew that this is the kind of trip that we’d never organise. We’re here in a hotel, and usually I’d be on my phone, I’d be researching the best restaurants in the area, I’d be talking to the concierge to find out about day trips, if there’s any boats we could be chartering! I’m so on it with the travel its such a freeing experience not to be doing anything. It’s like a holiday from organising a holiday.

Name the most annoying habit your partner will struggle with / you will struggle with your partner?

Kelly: I’ve been a bit jet lagged today and Jeremy was literally up at 5am and because he doesn’t have his phone, nothing will occupy him, so he was jumping up and down like an excitable child, opening windows, wanting me to get up, he’s like a coiled spring.

Jeremy: I think I’ll be waiting for Kelly, as I wake up early, I’ll be waiting for her to get ready.

Tell us a secret about your famous partner that will surprise viewers?

Jeremy: If it’s a secret, I can’t tell you! I guess she’s really organised and that will help us to win.