Race Across The World winners Alfie and Owen admit they ‘absolutely rinsed’ the budget during luxury hotel stays at checkpoints where they enjoyed ’24-hour room service’

Race Across The World winners Alfie and Owen have admitted they ‘absolutely cleared the budget’ during their luxury hotel stays on the show.

Trainee air traffic controller Alfie and pilot Owen, both 21, won the latest series of the hugely popular BBC show.

Five teams of two were tasked to race through a series of checkpoints to the island of Lombok in Indonesia in the grueling eight-week challenge.

Each leg of the show is broken up by the checkpoints where they can regroup and stay in luxury hotels. These hotel stays are not filmed for the show.

And the friends from St Albans now tell how they took full advantage of the luxury accommodation and even had 24-hour room service at a hotel in Cambodia.

Alfie told The times: ‘Well, the laundry certainly got done, but we didn’t go crazy anywhere, except in Phnom Penh, where it was 24-hour room service.

‘We had a three-storey car delivered. It was just food. Eat a lot. It was about two in the morning and I was on top of the world.”

Owen then added: “That was ridiculous. We have absolutely transformed the budget!’

It comes after previous contestants and crew members revealed the show’s behind-the-scenes secrets last month.

Series four winner Alfie, 20, confirmed that the teams will be able to stay in secret hotels for up to two days at each checkpoint – which will not be broadcast during the episodes.

Alfie spread the gossip in a Facebook group dedicated to the show, revealing they had to stay at the hotel for ‘safety reasons’.

He said: ‘It changes depending on the end times to ensure no one leaves at a completely ridiculous time – mainly for safety’.

Meanwhile, series two contestant Jen, who took part with her husband Rob, also revealed that the teams are accompanied by members of the crew at all times.

Although she insisted that “there’s not a lot viewers don’t get to see,” the two producers traveling with the teams are not revealed to viewers on-screen.

Jen also revealed that there is a “local fixer” and a medic driving about an hour behind them in case of an emergency.

She told the i, “You’re always with two crew members and a medic, with a local fixer right behind you. The crew really doesn’t contribute, despite what people think – no matter how foolish our decisions may be.

‘I remember going to a different time zone and almost missing a vital transport link, and the crew just had to get on with it. The same applies to our job site: all real vacancies in the region, simply compiled.’

When asked if it was really as hard as it seems on screen, Jen said: ‘People always ask me if it was really as hard as it looked. In short, YES. I was convinced that as soon as the cameras stopped rolling, they would wheel out the buffet car and hand over the keys to the luxury hotel, but hey, I was wrong. I really had to sleep in that hammock. In my case, ignorance was bliss.”

Jen talked about how the crew traveled with them all the time and there always had to be room for them at various transportation points such as buses.

She explained that they could only travel if at least one member of the crew could go with them, but insisted this never affected their itinerary.

Executive producer Mark Saben told the BBC: ‘They had to make the same journey as them and sleep next to them on the bus.

“So they were almost like a family, with its ups and downs. And as we explored, the teams discovered parts of the world that were completely surprising.”

Mark told Broadcast that visas and vaccines for ‘every conceivable country’ have been arranged in advance, with ‘every likely bus and train option, cost and connection’ being explored.

He said: “It’s all very well doing it in theory, looking at timescales and all that,” before adding: “But until someone actually does it you don’t know where the difficulties might lie.

“We have established protocols that set out rules on how the teams can safely hitchhike, travel at night and cross the border.”

Despite having a fixer and a doctor on hand, Mark revealed that they were instructed to keep their distance to make their experience feel authentic.

He said: ‘How they made their journey was up to them. This meant that as a production we had to respond to their decisions, no matter how nonsensical.

‘It was a nightmare for production management as the competing contributors decided how and where to go. You can’t underestimate how challenging the journey can be at times.’

MailOnline contacted Race Across The World for comment at the time.

The final episode saw a nail-biting end to the 15,000km race across East Asia as two couples approached the finish line neck and neck.

After arriving at the penultimate checkpoint in Jakarta within just twelve minutes of each other, Alfie as well as Owen, Isabel and Eugenie were keen to lead the way for the final leg.

Both couples met several times during their journey from Jakarta to Lombok, before having to travel by boat to a small island off the coast at exactly the same time.

After finding speedboat rides, the pairs shot across the sea before preparing to travel the rest of the way on foot.

The race ended with a dramatic sprint along the beach as best friends Alfie and Owen entered the check-in book first to claim the £20,000 prize.

Right behind the school friends was mother-daughter duo Eugenie and Isabel, who finished just eight minutes later.

In third place were beloved brother and sister Betty and James – who arrived a day later after overcoming a shrinking budget and accidents.

Couple Stephen and Viv finished in fourth place, with a whopping £180 left over from their budget.

The dramatic final scenes saw Alfie and Owen streak along the beach in Indonesia, surrounded by shimmering tropical waters, before arriving at the book and discovering they had won the race.

“We did it,” they shouted, before hugging each other.

Owen said proudly, “We came, and we saw, and we did it.”

“The best moment of our lives,” Alfie added. ‘Undeniably. I can not believe it.’

Eugenie and Isabel opened the book and discovered that they had been defeated by the boys for several minutes.