Kola Bokinni and Mary Ellen reveal Celebrity Race Across the World mistake

The duo only had 10% of their money left going into the final leg of the race

Celebrity Race Across The World S2,04-09-2024,4,Mary Ellen & Kola,Studio Lambert,Studio Lambert
Mary Ellen and Kola Bokinni in the race. (BBC/Studio Lambert)

Celebrity Race Across the World's Kola Bokinni and Mary Ellen have revealed they made a big mistake in the race - forgetting to count their money.

The pair are contestants in the current series of the BBC show, along with Kelly Brook and her husband Jeremy Parisi, Jeff Brazier and his son Freddy and couple Sam Vaughan and Scott Mills. With the finale airing tonight (18 September), Bokinni and Mary Ellen have admitted they got a few things wrong as they raced from Belem, Northern Brazil to the finishing point in the Andes, Frutillar in Southern Chile.

Speaking on The One Show, they shared that it took them some time to get into the race and that they made mistakes with their strategy and the money.

The pair struggled at the start of the series but picked up their pace as the race went on, and last week finally beat the other teams to the checkpoint. But they only have £218.52 going into the final leg, which is just 10% of their original budget of £2200 a pair and a lot less than the other teams, who have between 17% and 28% remaining.

"We didn’t actually count our money in the beginning, which is probably the thing you should do," Bokinni confessed. "There were many mistakes!" agreed Mary Ellen.

Celebrity Race Across The World S2,11-09-2024,5,Mary Ellen & Kola,Studio Lambert,Studio Lambert
Mary Ellen and Kola Bokinni admitted they didn't even count their money. (BBC/Studio Lambert)

Bokinni went on: "In the beginning we kind of got what we call it, lost in the sauce." "I didn’t actually realise I was in a race," he said. "When someone says go to Brazil, you don’t think, slum it, backpacking and all that kind of thing, you think, 'Oh caipirinhas'."

The pair said when they reached the checkpoint last early in the race, the others teased them a bit and jokingly offered them money to help them stay in the competition.

"It really wound me up a little bit so the race was on from there, the race was on from that moment," Bokinni said.

The duo said things had turned around by the end, with the actor saying he was more "savvy" going into the final days. "We had our winning hats on," agreed Mary Ellen. "We were like, we are in it to win it now."

Strictly judge Anton Du Beke was also a guest on The One Show, where he revealed he wouldn't mind a crack at the race himself, saying it would be "very exciting".

Anton Du Beke (BBC screengrab)
Anton Du Beke was also a guest on The One Show. (BBC screengrab)

"I would enjoy it enormously," he said. "I would keep my passport on me at all times," he teased, after Bokinni left his on a bus whilst travelling to Punta del Este in Uruguay.

Du Beke also had a plan for getting places fast, joking: "I would steal a car!"

Celebrity Race Across The World airs tonight (18 September) at 9pm on BBC One.