Race Across the World, which recently returned for its third season, is without a doubt one of the finest reality shows on the air.
What is the premise? On a shoestring budget, teams of two must sprint across Canada without flying or using smartphones.
The first team to complete the 16,000-kilometer journey from Vancouver to St. John’s gets a £20,000 lump payment.
The third season of the BBC One show introduced fans to participants such as Monique and her father Ladi, best friends Tricia and Cathie, and Claudia and her father Kevin.
But husband-and-wife combination Zainib and Mobeen have proven to be the most popular among viewers, with some even pushing for the couple to have their own reality programme.
This week, Metro.co.uk spoke with 32-year-old psychiatrist Zainib, who told how the show has impacted her and 31-year-old surgeon Mobeen’s marriage.
‘We’ve been married nine years now and [the show] has made us stronger,’ Zainib shared, adding: ‘It’s made me realize how glad I am that he’s my person.’
When asked if the stress of rushing across a continent without credit cards or internet generated many fights, Zainib responded calmly.
‘Like with any relationship, there are going to be times when you get on each other’s nerves and have a bit of a falling out because you disagree or whatnot, but nothing major.’
She added: ‘We’ve always managed to work through it and remain respectful to each other’s opinions.’
Now for the burning question: how many bears did Zainib and Mobeen meet, and how frightening were they?
‘We saw a lot of bears,’ Zainib coolly replied.
‘Some of the bears were so cute, like little babies. But usually when there’s a baby there’s a mama bear, and you don’t want to mess with her.’
One of the most touching scenes in episode one was when Zainib and Mobeen hitched a ride with a man called Corey, who told them about his late ‘best buddy,’ a pet dog he’d lost.
He persuaded Mobeen and Zainib to stop at the beauty stop in honour of his dog, explaining that he and his dog used to jump into the same BC lake every year.
Zainib stood on the beach watching Mobeen and Corey swim.
Asked whether she’s still in touch with Corey, Zainib shared: ‘We are in touch, we’ve exchanged emails. I received one from him just yesterday. He’s a wonderful person.’
Were there any especially tense occasions that Zainib recalls?
‘There are so many hairy situations Veet could sponsor us. There’s lots of excitement still to come.’
Of course, we couldn’t let her leave without asking what she’d do with the £20,000 if she and Mobeen won.
Zainib told us: ‘It would be nice to buy something superficial, like a handbag for myself.’
She quickly added: ‘But I know Mobeen would decide on something far more sensible. Our focus was never the money, it’s not like we’d be able to retire and live off it.’
Race Across The World continues next Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One.
