A Celebrity Race Across The World star has made a determined pledge before the series finale after branding themselves the “underdog”.
Despite launching the competition strongly, presenter Anita Rani and her father Bal have slumped to the bottom of the rankings as they approach the final checkpoint.
The journey has delivered numerous highs and lows since the teams embarked from the picturesque Caribbean isle of Isla Mujeres, positioned off Mexico’s easternmost tip, before charging 5,900km towards the finish line in Colombia’s remote PenÃnsula de La Guajira – South America’s gateway.
At one stage, the BBC was forced to alter the regulations and permit the celebrities to board a flight following safety worries over planned industrial action near Medellin in Colombia.
Now Anita, 48, and Bal are battling siblings Roman and Harleymoon Kemp, actor Dylan Llewellyn and his mother Jackie, plus DJ Tyler West and his actress partner Molly Rainford in a dash to the finishing post, reports the Mirror.
The father-daughter pair initially topped the checkpoint standings for two legs, then dropped to second, followed by third, and now face enormous pressure to reclaim their leading position.
Speaking before the finale, Anita revealed: “Now it feels like we’re properly racing. We feel under a lot of pressure.”
She confessed: “We’re the underdogs. So not confident, it would take a lot, but as we’ve seen throughout the race we could do it. We’ll give it everything.”
However, the former Strictly star pledged: “We’re never going to quit. There’s obviously been disappointment so far about the things that have been out of our control, but there’s a life lesson in that, isn’t there? You know when Guatemala closed down, we miss a bus, or whatever, all those things are completely out of your control, and it’s very frustrating, but that’s part of the journey.”
Despite the hurdles, they cherished the experience, particularly the quality time spent together.
Bal expressed: “For me, every part of the journey has been fantastic and was new for me. Even getting on any of these rickety buses was new. Everything was memorable.”
Anita chimed in: “I’d do the whole thing again, definitely with my dad. But the volcano, the Lamanai ruins in Belize, but also just getting to know each other, having quality time together.
“Even with all the pressure, in a way, that’s what makes it – just having time. Time is everything, isn’t it?”
The finale of Celebrity Race Across The World is on BBC One on Thursday, December 11 at 8pm