Destination X (British TV series)
| Destination X | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality competition |
| Based on | Destination X (Flanders) |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Byron Archard |
| Presented by | Rob Brydon |
| Opening theme | The Golden Spoon by Bleeding Fingers |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production company | Twofour |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 30 July 2025 – 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.[1]
Production
The series was an Albert Certified Production.[2] 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).[3]
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.[3]
Great care was taken to avoid giving unplanned clues to the contestants. They were chaperoned between vehicles wearing blackout goggles.[3]
Contestants
The thirteen contestants competing in the first series of Destination X were revealed on 30 July 2025.[4]
| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Occupation | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahdi Nacer | 22 | London, England | Content creator | Walked (Episode 1) |
| Deborah Rayner | 62 | Lytham St Annes, England | Crime writer | Eliminated 1st (Episode 1) |
| Dawn McAllister | 33 | Derry, Northern Ireland | Care assistant | Eliminated 2nd (Episode 2) |
| James Martin-Harper | 23 | Manchester, England | E-commerce manager | Eliminated 3rd (Episode 3) |
| Ben Room | 42 | Swansea, Wales | Surf school director | Eliminated 4th (Episode 3) |
| Chloe-Anne Banks | 27 | Oxford, England | Historian | Eliminated 5th (Episode 4) |
| Ashvin Zacharia | 23 | London, England | Economics Graduate | Eliminated 6th (Episode 5) |
| Nick Butter | 35 | Cornwall, England | Endurance athlete | Eliminated 7th (Episode 7) |
| Claire Tidy | 51 | West Sussex, England | Retired detective sergeant | Eliminated 8th (Episode 8) |
| Daren Parr | 58 | London, England | Taxi driver | Eliminated 9th (Episode 9) |
| Saskia Hayman | 25 | Birmingham, England | Marketing executive | Third place (Episode 10) |
| Josh Martin | 26 | Dartford, England | Pilot | Runner-up (Episode 10) |
| Judith Magambo | 27 | Bristol, England | Nuclear engineer | Winner (Episode 10) |
Progress
While only the contestant eliminated was announced on the show, the BBC Facebook account revealed detailed episode results after airing.[5] Results are categorised as follows:
Legend:
| Contestant | Episode | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6[a] | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| Judith | HIGH | BTM | HIGH | WIN | IN | WIN | IMM | BTM | BTM | WINNER |
| Josh | HIGH | IN | IN | IMM | WIN | IN | HIGH | WIN | WIN | RUNNER-UP |
| Saskia | BTM | IN | HIGH | IMM | HIGH | IN | WIN | HIGH | HIGH | THIRD PLACE |
| Daren | IN | HIGH | BTM | IMM | HIGH | IN | IMM | HIGH | ELIM | GUEST |
| Claire[b] | ELIM[c] | RTRN | IMM | BTM | IN | IMM | ELIM | |||
| Nick | IN | WIN | WIN | HIGH | IN | IN | ELIM | |||
| Ashvin[b] | ELIM[c] | RTRN | BTM | ELIM | ||||||
| Chloe-Anne[b] | ELIM[c] | RTRN | ELIM | |||||||
| Ben | IN | IN | ELIM | |||||||
| James | IN | HIGH | ELIM[b] | GUEST | ||||||
| Dawn | WIN | ELIM | GUEST | |||||||
| Deborah | ELIM | |||||||||
| Mahdi | QUIT[d] | |||||||||
Notes:
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ a b c In episode 1, Ashvin, Chloe-Anne and Claire were eliminated after losing the starting challenge to earn a Bording Pass
- ^ Madhi voluntarily exited the bus during episode 1.
Destination summary
| Episode | Distance travelled[6] | "Destination X" location[7] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 698 km | Paris, France |
| 2 | 794 km | Matterhorn, Swiss-Italian Border |
| 3 | 691 km | Munich, Germany |
| 4 | 328 km | Salzburg, Austria |
| 5 | 548 km | Venice, Italy |
| 6 | 0 km | |
| 7 | 279 km | Pula, Croatia |
| 8 | 728 km | Pisa, Italy |
| 9 | 834 km | Monte Carlo, Monaco |
| 10 | 696 km | Spanish Steps, Rome, Italy |
Episodes
| No. | Original release date | Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 July 2025 | 4.35 |
| 2 | 31 July 2025 | 3.36 |
| 3 | 6 August 2025 | 3.30 |
| 4 | 7 August 2025 | 2.75 |
| 5 | 13 August 2025 | 2.98 |
| 6 | 14 August 2025 | 3.07 |
| 7 | 20 August 2025 | 3.37 |
| 8 | 21 August 2025 | 3.23 |
| 9 | 27 August 2025 | 3.89 |
| 10 | 28 August 2025 | 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".[8]
References
- ^ "Destination X – Series 1 Episode 1". Destination X. BBC. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Waddell, Lily (30 July 2025). "BBC travel show Destination X reveals filming secrets and where stars sleep". Yahoo News. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
- ^ Mensah, Katelyn. "Destination X cast: Confirmed line-up of contestants | Radio Times". www.radiotimes.com. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ "facebook.com/BBC". facebook.com.
- ^ "BBC - Destination X". bbc.destination-x-game.com. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ "Destination X locations for all episodes in series 1". The Northern Echo. 29 August 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ 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.