This time round, contestants will be racing across 15,000km of Eastern Asia. Starting in Japan, five duos will travel through nine countries and six seas, finishing in Lombok, Indonesia. To get there, contestants will have to make their way around the ring of fire, famous for its volcanoes and earthquakes.

Through it all, they will have no access to their smartphone, bank cards or the internet.

Find out more about the racers below.

Owen and Alfie

Owen and Alfie are two 20-year-old best mates from Hertfordshire. One’s a trainee pilot, and the other’s a football referee. Both were caught off-guard when they realised that neither of them have an analogue watch. Their plan?

“iPods,” says Owen. “I’m relying on that.”

“I’m not relying on that,” Alfie adds.

Betty and James

Brother and sister duo Betty and James are also in their 20s. Betty tells the BBC “I think in terms of skills we’re both physically fit and that’ll probably help us at points. I think we are quite approachable as people so I think we will be good at talking to people.”

Having watched previous series together, James says the main tip he’s picked up from previous series is confidence.

“It's just helpful in most aspects of the race really,” he says. “Just being confident when speaking to people or even being confident in challenging each other, so you get to a mutual decision as quickly as possible.”

Eugenie and Isabel

Eugenie is a 60-year-old teacher. Her teammate, daughter Isabel, is a 25-year-old trainee clinical scientist.

“Mum and I are not as close as we could be so I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore,” Eugenie says.

“Originally, I applied to make my daughter happy but then I watched the show and thought it was really exciting,” says Isabel. “Then when she said it would be a good time for us to really bond and spend time together I thought actually, she’s right because Isabel’s language of love is time and we haven’t actually really had the quality time that we could have had recently.”

Brydie and Sharon

Brydie and Sharon are another mother-and-daughter team. Brydie is a 25-year-old snowboard instructor, while her mum Sharon is a 52-year-old cleaner.

Brydie’s found the experience of no phone or credit card incredibly liberating.

“I’m loving it,” she says. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”

“See, this is really weird because she’s the younger one,” says Sharon. “I am missing my phone, roles reversed. Now if you’d have spoken to me a week ago, I would have said the opposite.”

Stephen and Viv

Last but not least, Stephen and Viv are a retired couple from Rutland.

“We borrowed my daughter’s rucksack and then stuffed it full of towels and we were wearing it round the house to see how we got on with it, that was sort of maximum preparation,” says Stephen. “We tried to get a little bit fitter but the reality is we’re lazy like everyone else, I guess.”

“We’re hoping that it’s just going to be amazing scenery, absolutely beautiful, and that the culture will be just an eye opener,” says Viv. “It’s totally different to what we’ve seen.”

The new series of Race Across the World will air on BBC One and be available on iPlayer from Wednesday 10 April.