For the 20th season of the show Beijing Expressbroadcast from Thursday on M6, the ten pairs compete to explore Africa through Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho and South Africa. Among this “feel good and positive casting”, according to the production, is Patricia, 59 years old, and Adrien, 30 years old, baptized: the “friends thirty years apart”.
One is “very sporty”, the other “not at all”, they detail to 20 Minutes. “Beyond our age difference, we have very different characters with Patricia,” says Adrien, who has originally been his son’s best friend for more than fifteen years. “But in this type of show, it’s a strength to be able to rely on our differences, this is how we complement each other and move forward! “, he assures.
When Patricia was able to count on Adrien’s “communicative” side and his “positivity”, the latter was able to rely on his friend’s endurance and perseverance. “I managed to drag Adrien,” she adds, smiling. What worked most was that we accepted each other as we were. » “We underestimate the strength of the intergenerational”, adds the thirty-year-old.
The “dream” of their life
On the preparation side, the duo, who strengthened their friendship during Patricia’s “daily sports walks” when Adrien was unemployed three years ago, relied (a little) on “luck”. “I admit that I left without knowing a word of English,” says the oldest of the 20th season. I told myself that I would see directly on site.” Same philosophy for Adrien regarding sport. “Before leaving, I ran three times on the banks of the Rhône [il vit à Lyon depuis deux ans]for fifteen minutes. And then, I gave up,” he confides.
But no amount of training could have prepared them for what awaited them in Africa. Hitchhiking, looking for accommodation, meeting populations and cultures they didn’t know… The two Côte d’Oriens did “things they had never done in their lives” and “learned a lot on themselves” during this adventure. But above all, they have realized “the dream of their life”, they say in one voice.
Beijing Express“the pinnacle” of broadcasts
“Since the first show, twenty years ago, I had always told myself that one day, I would do “Pékin Express”, explains Patricia. I never applied because I couldn’t find an interesting partner to do it with. » Until the day Adrien suggested sending a joint application.
This professional integration advisor at the local mission in Lyon tried to participate six years in a row, until being taken for this twentieth season. “For me, “Beijing Express” is the noblest adventure show, it’s the pinnacle. » So when he learned that he was selected, “I only had the word ‘incredible’ in my mouth,” he remembers. Before adding: “It’s crazy to be selected for all these applications and to say to yourself that we are going to live a dream that we have wanted for years. It has a dizzying side. »
Difficult to “come down” after the show
Since their participation – the filming was carried out last summer – the two friends have struggled to “come down”. “I don’t know how, in my daily life, I will be able to feel again what I felt during “Beijing Express,” says Adrien. “There are emotions that I have never had in sixty years of life, that I experienced during the show,” assures, in turn, Patricia who “for the first time” says she is “proud” of ‘She. From now on, the one who works in coffee vending machines and candy stores would like to do humanitarian work, or “professional blogger”, she jokes.
Our file on Beijing Express
Before concluding: “I only have one thing to say, if I am called this evening to leave, I will leave tomorrow morning”. In the meantime, she is taking on other, more local challenges, such as descending the Rhône, swimming, using fins, in water at 2°C.
