The finale of season 19 of Beijing Express was broadcast this Saturday, October 19 on M6 and it marked the defeat of the pair of hosts, Clément and Emeline. They looked back on their brilliant career for Télé Star.
Télé Star: what were your feelings after your defeat in the Beijing Express final?
Emeline : It was complicated… On the one hand we are super sad and disappointed because we were only a hair’s breadth away from getting there and we didn’t succeed. And on the other hand, we are happy because we made it to the end, we ran on this red carpet and we experienced the whole adventure. And then we are also super happy for Jean-Claude and Axel.
Clément : I have completely the same feeling. Indeed when we reach the final, we want to go to the end, we are not coming to lose it
(laughs). Afterwards, the obstacles unfortunately mean that it doesn’t always happen the way we would like it to happen…
Did you feel a certain injustice in losing in the final after a very good run?
Clément : We wondered a little if we had had bad luck… And in fact, yes and no. Sometimes destiny is sealed and I think that there, whatever we would have done, our destiny was sealed. We couldn’t have done better, there was always something that blocked us in this final.
Emeline : I don’t know if it’s unfair because it’s a bit strong. Afterwards, obviously, we say to ourselves that it’s not fair in the sense that we gained momentum, that we were in the semi-final without having a black envelope, that we managed to empty their kitty etc. But after that, it’s actually the game. It’s easy to tell yourself that it’s unfair and that you’re unlucky. But we don’t want to hide behind that. Like Clem said, it felt like it was just fate. We did everything we could to win this race, we believed in it until the end. Afterwards, sometimes it doesn’t go the way we want it to, is it unfair, is it bad luck… We just had the impression that it wasn’t our day.
The on-camera debriefs are filmed the day after the final. Did you have difficulty containing your emotions when it came to looking back on your journey?
Emeline : I think it was the worst interviews we’ve done! (laughs) Clément kept complaining, saying that it made him drunk… Yes, it was really complicated for Clem. And for me it was hard because I wanted to cry. Well, interviews already, it’s not our favorite moment because it’s super long. And there, having to retrace the entire final when we know we lost… It was complicated.
Clément : We’re not going to talk about it!
(laughs) No but, jokes aside, at the beginning we were still in a difficult mood. We already wake up and remember that we lost, then we have to do the interview and go over all these moments. And at the same time, we remember everything and we go into details because we also want to tell everything. So yes, it is indeed very complicated. Afterwards, honestly, it feels good, because when we look back on our journey, we tell ourselves that we can be proud of ourselves.
Emeline : Yes, it doesn’t end as we would have liked, but it’s clear that it can’t erase our entire journey.
photo credit: M6
What seemed different to you compared to your season?
Emeline : The level! It was much rougher and you can see it from the start when we keep saying we’re bad. In our season, we used to be at the top of the table, and here we have the impression of having the same investment but of not having at all the same return in terms of performance (laughs).
Clément : There you go, and even the concept wasn’t the same. We didn’t arrive along the way, and we weren’t in an edition with secret choice and strategy. So all that was already less pressure for us but it was a bit detrimental in the end because the pressure of our first season had been positive. And I don’t know if that’s why we found ourselves in a soft spot at the beginning. After the first season it was the beginning, it was incredible. But in terms of adrenaline and what we were able to experience, the second was above.
Emeline : That’s it, in terms of everything, the competition, the challenges, the people around us… Everything was more intense. It was going super fast! And fortunately with the entertainment, we are used to this type of day because we were still able to enjoy the evening with the people. We realized how lucky we were to be there, and we knew we were going to be exhausted but we said to ourselves:Come on, then we have our whole life to rest.. But yes the pace was very strong.
What was it like to arrive at the same time as the other pairs this time?
Emeline : It was weird, but it’s so good! It’s a luxury for us (laughs). I think others don’t realize it, but being on an equal footing is a great comfort. We weren’t the pair to be defeated and that was so good. Obviously it changes the whole atmosphere because we don’t feel this side where others want to eliminate us. It really felt like a summer camp.
Clément : That’s it, it was luxury!
(laughs)
Finale aside, what seemed the hardest to you during the adventure?
Emeline : Bungee jumping for me. It was very complicated… Afterwards I knew that if we went far, there was going to be a test like that and even if I had tried to prepare for it, it was really the worst test for me.
Clément : Oh me, everything is fine!
(laughs) No, even though it didn’t really appear on the screen and you can’t see it, I really had a bad experience with the tasting test. It’s not my thing, I don’t like it at all and it was very complicated. And it was already a bad memory of our first season also with the peppers.
Are there any moments that had to be cut during editing that you would have liked to see?
Emeline : Honestly no, we are happy with everything that was shown. It transcribes very well what we experienced. And we are also aware that we are seven pairs and that each pair has important moments so we knew that certain passages were not going to be shown. But frankly it’s part of the game, and we’re happy with everything we’ve seen, it brought back good memories and we don’t have any frustration in that regard at all.
Clément : I think that, like all the pairs, we would have just liked to see a little more about evenings at locals’ houses. Because we had an incredible time and we told ourselves so many times that we were really lucky. But it’s clear that we can’t show everything, it would be way too long…
What did you think of India for your adventure?
Emeline : We loved it, in truth we often like to say that India, we either love it or we hate it – that was Clément’s phrase. (laughs) – and we liked it. There are people from everywhere, colors, it’s a lively country and we love that atmosphere. So we were very happy to go there.
Clément : There you go, it’s an exceptional country, humanly speaking, the hospitality of the people is incredible. But sometimes it’s also complicated because in fact it seems that their main means of communication is the horn
(laughs). For the record, at one point we stayed 20 minutes on the side of the road hitchhiking, and for 20 minutes there was the sound of a truck horn, it was terrible
(laughs) ! We no longer got along. So it’s really a country that we love and hate equally because at certain times, it’s just too much.
What are your best memories of the adventure?
Emeline : In terms of events, I think our best memory is when Clément succeeds in the final duel, that I hear him shouting my first name as he comes back… Bungee jumping too, even if that’s more personal . And the 3 hours with my arm in the air, it was an incredible moment. Afterwards, there were plenty of them at people’s houses, evenings at locals’ houses… Honestly, we only have good memories.
Clément : Yes, for me the two strongest are these, the final duel and the arm…
So if M6 invites you to come back a third time… are you up for it?
Emeline : Oh well yes of course! It makes me laugh because on the networks we see lots of messages that say ‘Oh it would be great if Axel and grandpa JC won because it’s the last time for grandpa JC‘ and each time I want to say that we’re not going to be called back 14 times either!
(laughs) We’ve already done it twice, we know how lucky we are. But of course we want to do Beijing Express every year.
Clément : Me too clearly. It’s inexplicable what happens in Beijing Express so yes, if we could come back a third time, that would be incredible. But on the other hand, you also have to keep your feet on the ground, there are more than 40,000 applications per season and we have already had the chance to do it twice. It’s incredible. Even if we don’t leave again, I’ll be very happy with what we did.
