Destination X (British TV series)

Last updated

Destination X
Genre Reality competition
Based on Destination X  [ nl ] (Flanders)
Written by
  • Scott Bennett
  • Christine Rose
Directed byByron Archard
Presented by Rob Brydon
Opening themeThe Golden Spoon by Bleeding Fingers
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
  • Dan Adamson
  • David Clews
  • Saul Fearnley
Production company Twofour
Original release
Network BBC One
Release30 July 2025 (2025-07-30) –
present
Related

Destination X is a British television game show created by the BBC. The series is hosted by Welsh actor and comedian Rob Brydon. The series debuted on 30 July 2025.

Contents

Production

The series was an Albert Certified Production. [1] A crew of 190 people was used to film the series, which involved two specially fitted-out coaches travelling more than 11,000 km (6875 miles). [2]

The two coaches used in the series had opaque windows which could be briefly made transparent by the production team at the flick of a switch. One coach was used for day time travel with luxury seats (and a toilet). A second coach was fitted out as sleeping quarters for the contestants, with bunk beds. A third vehicle was used to transport portable toilets. [2]

Great care was taken to avoid giving unplanned clues to the contestants. They were chaperoned between vehicles wearing blackout goggles. [2]

Contestants

The thirteen contestants competing in the first series of Destination X were revealed on 30 July 2025. [3]

Ages, names and cities stated as of time of filming
ContestantAgeHometownOccupationFinish
Mahdi Nacer22 London, EnglandContent creatorWalked
(Episode 1)
Deborah Rayner62 Lytham St Annes, EnglandCrime writerEliminated 1st
(Episode 1)
Dawn McAllister33 Derry, Northern IrelandCare assistantEliminated 2nd
(Episode 2)
James Martin-Harper23 Manchester, EnglandE-commerce managerEliminated 3rd
(Episode 3)
Ben Room42 Swansea, WalesSurf school directorEliminated 4th
(Episode 3)
Chloe-Anne Banks27 Oxford, EnglandHistorianEliminated 5th
(Episode 4)
Ashvin Zacharia23 London, EnglandEconomics GraduateEliminated 6th
(Episode 5)
Nick Butter35 Cornwall, EnglandEndurance athleteEliminated 7th
(Episode 7)
Claire Tidy51 West Sussex, EnglandRetired detective sergeantEliminated 8th
(Episode 8)
Daren Parr58 London, EnglandTaxi driverEliminated 9th
(Episode 9)
Saskia Hayman25 Birmingham, EnglandMarketing executiveThird place
(Episode 10)
Josh Martin26 Dartford, EnglandPilotRunner-up
(Episode 10)
Judith Magambo27 Bristol, EnglandNuclear engineerWinner
(Episode 10)

Progress

While only the contestant eliminated was announced on the show, the BBC Facebook account revealed detailed episode results after airing. [4] Results are categorised as follows:

Legend:

  The contestant won Destination X
  The contestant finished as runner-up.
  The contestant finished in third place.
  WIN indicates that the contestant placed their X closest to the episode's destination.
  WIN indicates that the contestant won a Golden X Pass from winning the challenge in Episode 6
  HIGH indicates that the contestant was one of the three contestants closest to the episode's destination, but was not the closest.
  IN indicates that the contestant was neither in the top, nor the bottom, and remained in the competition.
  RTRN indicates the contestant returned to the competition.
  BTM (Bottom) indicates the contestant's X was placed the second furthest from the destination, but they remained on the X Bus.
  ELIM (Eliminated) indicates that the contestant was eliminated following a map room.
  ELIM (Eliminated) indicates that the contestant was eliminated following a challenge.
  QUIT indicates that the contestant voluntarily exited the X Bus.
ContestantEpisode
123456 [a] 78910
JudithHIGHBTMHIGHWININWINIMMBTMBTMWINNER
JoshHIGHININIMMWININHIGHWINWINRUNNER-UP
SaskiaBTMINHIGHIMMHIGHINWINHIGHHIGHTHIRD PLACE
DarenINHIGHBTMIMMHIGHINIMMHIGHELIMGUEST
Claire [b] ELIM [c] RTRNIMMBTMINIMMELIM
NickINWINWINHIGHININELIM
Ashvin [b] ELIM [c] RTRNBTMELIM
Chloe-Anne [b] ELIM [c] RTRNELIM
BenININELIM
JamesINHIGHELIM [b] GUEST
DawnWINELIMGUEST
DeborahELIM
MahdiQUIT [d]

Notes:

  1. ↑ The sixth leg featured no elimination. Instead, contestants competed in a challenge for a dinner with their loved one, as well as a Golden X Pass.
  2. 1 2 3 4 In episode 3, Ashvin, Chloe-Anne and Claire competed in a challenge to re-enter the competition alongside the current players. Following this challenge, all three re-entered, and James was eliminated.
  3. 1 2 3 In episode 1, Ashvin, Chloe-Anne and Claire were eliminated after losing the starting challenge to earn a Bording Pass
  4. ↑ Madhi voluntarily exited the bus during episode 1.

Destination summary

EpisodeDistance travelled [5] "Destination X" location [6]
1698 km Paris, France
2794 km Matterhorn, Swiss-Italian Border
3691 km Munich, Germany
4328 km Salzburg, Austria
5548 km Venice, Italy
60 km
7279 km Pula, Croatia
8728 km Pisa, Italy
9834 km Monte Carlo, Monaco
10696 km Spanish Steps, Rome, Italy

Episodes

No.Original release date Viewers
(millions)
130 July 2025 (2025-07-30)4.35
231 July 2025 (2025-07-31)3.36
36 August 2025 (2025-08-06)3.30
47 August 2025 (2025-08-07)2.75
513 August 2025 (2025-08-13)2.98
614 August 2025 (2025-08-14)3.07
720 August 2025 (2025-08-20)3.37
821 August 2025 (2025-08-21)3.23
927 August 2025 (2025-08-27)3.89
1028 August 2025 (2025-08-28)4.01

Reception

Lucy Mangan described the series as a blend of The Traitors and Race Across the World . She describes the challenges as "baffling" with it becoming "slightly hallucinatory and I truly do not know what is going on". [7]

References

  1. ↑ Mensah, Katelyn (7 August 2025). ""We're all accountable": How Destination X is paving the way for more sustainable television". Radio Times . Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Waddell, Lily (30 July 2025). "BBC travel show Destination X reveals filming secrets and where stars sleep". Yahoo News . Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  3. ↑ Mensah, Katelyn. "Destination X cast: Confirmed line-up of contestants | Radio Times". www.radiotimes.com. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  4. ↑ "facebook.com/BBC". facebook.com.
  5. ↑ "BBC - Destination X". bbc.destination-x-game.com. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  6. ↑ "Destination X locations for all episodes in series 1". The Northern Echo . 29 August 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  7. ↑ Lucy, Mangan (30 July 2025). "Destination X review – the BBC's big new reality competition will make you feel like you're hallucinating". The Guardian . ISSN   1756-3224 . Retrieved 11 August 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.