Who are Caroline and Tom? Meet Race Across the World 2025 contestants

Among the pairs are mother and son duo Caroline and Tom, who couldn't be more different when it comes to travelling.

But what is there to know about the pair? Read on as Caroline and Tom embark on an epic race.

Who are Caroline and Tom?

Relationship: Mother and son

Housewife Caroline, 60, is looking to prove that she is more than just mum and is on the race with her son Tom, 21.

Prior to the race, Tom has travelled plenty, but Caroline never had the opportunity to do so and was keen to be pushed out of her comfort zone.

"Thomas is more able to cope with perhaps a little hardship, I would say," Caroline said. "I'm not used to that, but I'm prepared to experience it, hence the sleeping bags, and we're prepared to sleep in bus stations and everything to save money.

"It's only for a few hours and I've come to terms with the fact that it's only finite. It will only be a few hours or maybe a few days before we can sleep properly, get clean and eat. So I think that will always keep us going."

Having been backpacking with friends before and spending six months around South America, Tom was well prepared for any challenge.

Why did Caroline and Tom want to take part in Race Across the World?

Similarly to Melvyn, Caroline watched a previous season of Race Across the World, which spurred her on to apply.

"It's the only thing I wanted to do," Caroline told RadioTimes.com and other press. "I was absolutely determined to get on it. I mentioned it to Thomas while we were on a dog walk and I said, 'I'm doing this. Will you come with me?' And it was literally like that."

Tom agreed to apply for the show, admitting he didn't think "there was a chance in hell that we'd actually get on".

He added: "I kind of said yes just to keep mum happy. And then we heard back, and then the closer and closer we got, the more and more I was actually excited to travel the world and do it with my mum, because that is never something I would probably choose to do. But I'm really glad we did. It was different, but amazing."

Race Across the World returns to BBC One and iPlayer on Wednesday 23rd April at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

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