10 pairs on the starting line. This Thursday, January 16, 2025, M6 is kicking off “Beijing Express: The Road to the Legendary Tribes”. Fourteen years after “The Road of the Great Wild Animals”, the epic, presented by Stéphane Rotenberg, will take place in Africa with a departure in Tanzania. The competitors will then cross Mozambique, a country never crossed by the show which will give rise to an aquatic event, Lesotho and South Africa, with a final in Johannesburg.
A new pair of promising strangers
Starting this Thursday, viewers will meet ten new pairs of candidates, starting with a tasty and promising pair of strangers, made up of Moâdecybersecurity engineer, and Ludovic34 years old, tax accountant in a notary’s office and above all a fan of the program from the start. The two men succeed Ryad and Louison in the role, a notable duo in season 18 broadcast in the first half of 2024.
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“In the cast, there is a bond that we have never known before, it is friends 30 years apart“, explained together, on December 19, 2024 on M6, Stéphane Rotenberg and producer Thierry Guillaume. “Adrien was in fact the best friend of the son of Patricia. Today they no longer leave each other and have decided to do this adventure together“. In another genre, the debut in the competition of Lionel et Evethe father and daughter from Franche-Comté, promise to be moving and trying, Lionel having recently been cured of cancer.
-Two couples will take part in the competition: Max et Helenethe internet couple, and Etienne et Judiththe lovebirds from the north who applied seven times before finally being selected. As with Jean-Claude and Axel in season 19, the production focused on representatives from the southwest this season with William et Christophethe Aveyron brothers. Among the candidates with a family connection, there are also Amandine et Alisontwin mothers, Matteo et Emeraldthe Belgian cousins. The cast is also made up of Cecile et Marionstudents and Otis et Enzogeek friends. “What I always find magical is that on paper, these candidates are not cut out for that. But actually, they’re good, they’re getting there. They complain at the beginning, they struggle and do incomprehensible things at times but on arrival, they are there on time.“, Stéphane Rotenberg was still surprised.
Famous mystery passengers
This year marks the return of the “Mystery Passenger” rule, made famous in 2012 during the eponymous edition won in Sydney, Australia by the excited brothers Ludovic and Samuel. From episode 2 on Thursday January 23, 2024, “a personality will accompany a pair whose fate will be in their hands“, Stéphane Rotenberg and Thierry Guillaume said last December.
“This personality will have to hitchhike in their place, find accommodation for them and participate in the events in their place. And so, obviously, this will shake up the competition“, the two men stamped their feet. It’s up to her not to be a handicap. Yoann Riouformer candidate for “Pékin Express: Duos de choc” with Xavier Domergue in 2022, will inaugurate this role in episode 2. Will follow, after him, Elodie Gossuin, Bruno Solo, Glenn Much or even Norbert Tarayre.
