Celebrity Race Across The World postponed over coronavirus (Picture: BBC/Getty)

A Celebrity version of Race Across The World has been shelved as the coronavirus outbreak continues to simmer.

The increasingly popular BBC series follows rival teams literally racing across the planet to reach a checkpoint with only the cost of a flight as your budget to get there. The catch? You can’t actually fly there – duh.

Race Across The World is gradually becoming a firm favourite among those in the know, so a star-studded edition was inevitable.

But we’ll have to wait until the virus has slowed down before we’ll see it


A BBC spokesperson confirmed: ‘Celebrity Race Across The World involves contestants travelling across a number of different countries, and given that official advice in relation to specific countries is continually changing in line with the spread of Covid-19, Studio Lambert has decided to delay production on this series in consultation with and supported by the BBC.



‘We will continue to review all productions on a case by case basis following the latest news and advice from the Foreign Office, World Health Organisation and Public Health England.’

Race Across The World follows five teams literally racing across the world (Picture: BBC)

What is the coronavirus and where did it start? Coronaviruses are a family of diseases which include the common cold and the virus which caused Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which originated in China in 2002 and killed nearly 800 people around the world. The virus causing concern now is a new strain which has made the jump from animals to people, named Covid-19. It causes fever and a cough and can make it hard for people to breathe, causing viral pneumonia in severe cases. Over 2,700 people worldwide have now died after contracting the illness. How does it affect the lungs? What are the symptoms of the virus? The virus is more likely to progress into a severe illness or prove fatal among older patients or those with weakened immune systems. As it is a viral illness, antibiotics will not help and there is no known cure or vaccine. A scan shows the lungs of a patient with coronavirus (Picture: Reuters) To avoid the illness, take usual hygiene precautions, such as using a tissue to cover coughs and sneezes, and making sure to wash your hands. Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth after touching things like poles on public transport and avoid close contact with people suffering an acute respiratory infection. You should also avoid unprotected contact with wild or farm animals. So far, 13 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the UK. Hundreds have been tested for it here, with most of the tests coming back negative. How many people in the UK have it? Is Coronavirus in the UK? Where is Wuhan in China, where coronavirus started? The virus originated in the city of Wuhan in China, where it is believed to have made the jump from animals to people at a seafood market. Wuhan is the capital of China’s Hubei province, a landlocked province in central China. It is built along the Yangtze river, and is around 500 miles west of Shanghai and 690 miles north of Hong Kong. It is the largest and most populous city in central China, although estimates over its population vary.

The special hasn’t started filming and the Celebrity Race Across The World line-up is yet to be announced.

For its second series, which kicked off last Sunday, five teams of two have been tasked with racing from Mexico City down to the most southernmost tip of South American, Ushuaia in Argentina.

The current cycle proved problematic without coronavirus. As the cast travelled through some of the most volatile countries in the world, security was stepped up and often producers would be forced to intervene.

Following its first episode, mother and son duo Jo and Sam are currently frontrunners after winning the race to the first checkpoint.

Race Across The World airs Sundays at 8pm on BBC Two.

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