Who Will Win Celebrity Race Across The World 2024?

The penultimate Celebrity Race Across The World episode of the series culminated in a fascinating finish on Wednesday night, meaning it is all to play for on betting sites.

The four teams - broadcaster Jeff Brazier and his son Freddie, Ted Lasso actor Kola Bokinni and his cousin Mary Ellen, model and broadcaster Kelly Brook and her husband Jeremy Parisi, and Radio 2 host Scott Mills and his husband Sam Vaughan - arrived at the fourth checkpoint of Tigre in Argentina last week.

In the latest episode, they were tasked with travelling 1,800km to fifth checkpoint Tilcara, a small town in northern Argentina lying in the dramatic Quebrada de Humahuaca mountain valley.

Throughout the penultimate leg, the teams either went via central Argentina, or travelled directly north from Tigre, but viewers were in for a treat at the end of the episode when all four pairings arrived at Tilcara at the same sort of time.

It led to a dramatic footrace to the checkpoint, resulting in just 39 minutes separating the four teams ahead of Wednesday's final episode.

Favourites Jeff And Freddie

Kola and Mary Ellen finished the penultimate leg in first place, with a lead of just seven minutes from second-place Jeff and Freddie.

Despite being in front heading into the final episode of the series, Kola and Mary are propping up the market on specials betting sites at 5/2.

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While they have shown they can go quickly if they need to, the cousins' budget has been severely depleted, and they have just 10 per cent left, the least out of the four teams.

There is a concern that they could even run out of cash in the final leg, which would effectively end their time in the competition.

On the flip side, Jeff and Freddie have been frugal throughout the series, and have a massive 28 per cent of their budget remaining.

The father-and-son duo are the 11/10 favourites to win this year's Celebrity Race Across the World heading into the final episode.

Last Wednesday night, they began the episode almost 11 hours behind then-leaders Scott and Sam, but made quick progress.

They managed to get a bus to Cordoba late on and took a risk on a taxi to continue going north, rather than travel four hours backwards to Cordoba.

This didn't seem to have paid off when there were barely any buses going from their next destination, but Jeff managed to rectify the situation.

Celebrity Race Across The World 2024 Outright Odds

Kola Fizzes In Penultimate Leg

Kola began the episode by admitting he was ready to "pack in" the series last time out, when he lost his passport in episode four.

But the actor insisted it was now "time to race", and he lived up to his word as he and Mary Ellen arrived at the fifth checkpoint in first place.

They had fun along the way, too, working with skilled gaucho horsemen on a ranch, where they rode horses, fed pigs and sheared sheep.

The pair initially picked the job in Argentina's Esquina partly because it was well paid, and the cousins needed a budget boost.

Kola admitted he wasn't looking forward to horse riding for the first time, but afterwards he said it was one of his best experiences "for a long time".

Mary admitted she had seen a change in Kola during the episode, and Kola said the race has given him the chance to "heal" a bit following the passing of his father last year.

While they go into last leg in the lead, the pair will have to be careful with just 10 per cent of their budget remaining. If they run out of money, they will be out of the race.

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Scott And Sam's 15-Minute Deficit

Scott and Sam began the penultimate leg as race leaders, but the pressure got to them a bit in the latest episode.

The pair were worried they had spent too much on a ferry last week, so they set out looking to save cash in leg five.

The married couple had to go backwards to Buenos Aires before travelling north, but were then faced with a four-and-a-half hour wait for a bus early on.

After travelling through the night to the quiet city of Empedrado, they got stranded there for the night because there were no buses out due to it being so remote.

Earlier in the day, the pair worked in Empedrado cleaning cars, but that night they had to book a hotel for $55, because there was no other choice, which wiped out that day's earnings.

They met up with Kola and Mary en route, which left Sam "a bit gutted", because they had been in the lead when they started the leg.

Despite this, Scott and Sam are only 15 minutes behind the new leaders and have 17 per cent of their budget remaining.

There isn't much between Scott and Sam, who are 6/4 second favourites on betting apps, and Kelly and Jeremy.

While they finished the penultimate leg in fourth place, Kelly and Jeremy are only 39 minutes behind leaders Kola and Mary Ellen, which is nothing in this race.

The pair, who are 13/8 third favourites to win the series on new betting sites, have 20 per cent of their budget remaining, but they look set to hit a stumbling block in the final leg.

In a teaser for next week's finale, Kelly and Jeremy appear to be struck with a bus breakdown, and Kelly admitted it was the "worse thing" to happen to them on the race so far.

In the penultimate leg, they went via Cordoba and worked at a vineyard en route, and afterwards, the pair admitted the experience had made them re-evaluate where they might want to live.

Despite their upcoming final leg bus issue, Kelly and Jeremy have shown they can go quickly if they need to, so it isn't over just yet.

* Reminder: These are hypothetical odds provided by industry experts.