Roman Kemp and Anita Rani were both slowed down amid protests along the route in Guatemala
Anita Rani’s travels were paused by the protests
Celebrity Race Across the World had to be halted “for safety reasons” amid protests in Guatemala.
The latest series of the BBC show sees the contestants travelling 5,900km across central America from Isla Mujeres in Mexico to Guajira Peninsula, the northernmost region of South America.
In the episode that aired on Thursday (November 13), Roman Kemp and his sister Harleymoon and Anita Rani and her dad Bal found that their travels were on hold because of the unrest.
The show’s narrator explained that “local protests had turned into a national uprising”.
All major highways were blocked and there were clashes in the cities, so the race had to be paused for Roman Kemp and his sister Harleymoon and Anita Rani and her dad Bal.
Roman was told his race was being ‘paused’
The other contestants – Dylan Llewellyn and his mum Jackie and couple Molly Rainford and Tyler West – had travelled on a different route to managed to avoid the trouble.
Roman and his sister were making their way to the next checkpoint when they received a message which said: “A national strike has been announced in Guatemala and many major roads have been blocked.
“For safety reasons, your race will be paused. This is an ongoing situation, and an update will be issued later today.”
Anita and Bal had been spending the night in the Guatemalan highlands when they learned that the roads wouldn’t be passable.
Protests in Guatemala interrupted the race
“We’re in lockdown in Guatemala,” said the broadcaster. “So basically, we’re trapped now.” The pair had been in the lead in the race, but Anita went on: “So our advantage is…”
“Nothing we can do, so why worry about it?” her dad told her.
“There’s part of me that’s absolutely like you, very philosophical about this because there’s nothing we can do,” she agreed. “But there is another part of my brain that is very much, oh dear.”
“What if it goes on for days? Is the race over for us?” she asked.
However, thankfully the situation eased and the contestants were able to resume the race when it was safe to do so.
Celebrity Race Across the World airs on BBC One