An “All Stars” season in India, extraordinary for the production and the candidates

TELEVISION – Who will succeed Romain and Laura, the big winners of the 18th season? Beijing Express ? This is the question that viewers of the adventure game presented by Stéphane Rotenberg on M6 are asking themselves. They will soon have the answer since the channel has announced the return of the program for an All Stars edition starting on September 14. Titled Beijing Express: The Epic of the Maharajas This 19th season will be exceptional on several levels.

First of all, for this season composed of former candidates already known to viewers, M6 has made a major change since the show is leaving the weekday schedule and inheriting the prestigious Saturday evening slot.

Then, at the press conference of Beijing Express held in the presence of twelve candidates of the season, the production team revealed some details on the itinerary of this All Stars edition. William Lebugle, deputy director of the external flow of the program, indicated in particular that, unlike most previous seasons, the duos will travel through a single country this time: India. They will explore in particular Rajasthan, a state located in the north of the country.

India, a difficult country for filming conditions

“We chose India because it is a very unusual destination in terms of modes of transport, particularly tuk tuks.” explained Stéphane Rotenberg during the press conference. “It’s a destination that has no equivalent in the world, there can very quickly be crowds and movements of people. It can be oppressive and it complicates the race for the pairs and even sometimes for the production teams” has he added under the approving nods of the candidates.

« As a woman, I felt apprehensive when I discovered that I was in India” even admitted Rose-Marie. I remembered an episode from a previous edition, where female candidates found themselves surrounded by a hundred men.” she recalls, referring to Caroline and Sabrina, two participants in season 10 in 2014. The film crews of Beijing Express had then repatriated the two young women to a safer area.

The pairs of the All Stars edition of Beijing Express

Since the program was created in 2006, this season will be the 6th “special edition”. It is therefore an All Stars season, that is to say, it sees the return of former duos who have already participated in the race, and left their mark on viewers. Among them are:

• Rose-Marie and Cinzia, the Parisian friends of season 14
• Clément and Émeline the hosting duo of season 17
• Jean-Claude and Axel, the grandfather and grandson of season 15
• Nathalie and Angie, the unknown duo of season 17
• Hoang and Quyen, the siblings of season 5
• Fabrice and Briac, the unknown duo who became “spiritual fathers and sons” of season 12
• Claire and Christophe, the father and daughter duo from season 14 who are the only ones from this season to have already won Beijing Express.

No new rules on the agenda

Thierry Guillaume, producer of the show also revealed that if the white flag, introduced last season, is making a comeback, it There are no new rules this year. “We have taken up the fundamentals of previous editions” he said.

“We have also planned some small tests which are nods to the past adventures of the candidates because there are games which have marked them whether by victory or defeat” added William Lebugle.

As in season 18, a second part of the evening Debrief Express will air after each episode starting Saturday, September 14.

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