And they're off!

Meet the contestants who are trekking 14,000km to win Race Across The World's £20k prize

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Producers have taken secrecy to a whole new level for Race Across The World's latest season, leaving contestants in the dark until the very last moment.

"They came into Gatwick Airport, they took everything and then told us we'd be going to Beijing," says Melvyn, 65, who joins the race alongside his brother, Brian, 62. "When we were travelling in China, they blacked the windows out, you couldn't see anything."

This season's challenge? A 14,000km race from the village of Huanghuacheng, just north of Beijing, to India's southern tip, in coastal Kanniyakumari.

Contestants kick things off on the Great Wall Of China, armed with a travel budget of about £22 each per day.

The £20,000 prize is up for grabs, but the show continues to push its contestants to their emotional and physical limits - and this season may just be the most dramatic journey yet...

GAZ AND YIN, BOTH 54