Jo and Kush told the ECHO how their Scouse charm helped them on Race Across the World
Jo and Kush told the ECHO how their Scouse charm helped them on Race Across the World
Jo and Kush were unfamiliar names just three weeks ago, but fans have fallen in love with the best friends from Liverpool who have made their mark on one of TV’s most popular programmes. Race Across the World returned to screens earlier this month and Jo Diop and Kush Burman, both 19, from Toxteth, are hoping to make their city proud.
From their strong desire to showcase their Merseyside roots to their close-knit bond clearly visible on screen, fans are rooting for the two friends who have taken on the ultimate challenge. The show sees five teams of two battle it out for a £20,000 prize, racing over 12,000km across eight countries including Italy, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.
Alongside Jo and Kush in this year’s line-up are dad and daughter, Andrew, 54 and Molly, 23; cousins Puja, 31 and Roshni, 21; siblings Katie, 21 and Harrison, 23 and Mark, 66 with his sister-in-law Margo, 59, who is also from Childwall.
The contestants have previously shared their meaningful reasons for taking on the challenge, whether it’s Mark and Margo’s heartwarming tribute to a loved one, or Molly’s desire to prove her dad Andrew that she is capable of travelling the world- it’s clear the experience is incredibly meaningful to those involved.
While Jo and Kush can now look back on the experience as an opportunity of a lifetime, that wasn’t always the case.
In an interview with the Liverpool ECHO, the 19-year-olds shared their reason for being on the show actually came from a “joke gone too far”.
Jo and Kush never imagined they’d be accepted onto the show after applying on a whim. Jo told the ECHO: “It was definitely a ‘why not’ situation. For us, applying costed nothing and if we didn’t make it on the show, we would’ve gone travelling anyway.”
Kush added: “I’d never watched the series previously but my mum and my brothers did. When I saw it advertised I said to Jo let’s apply as a joke. We did the video, and a few days later, one thing led to another and it was like a joke that had gone too far.”
They were both surprised to be accepted onto the show, but felt comfort in the fact they could experience it together. They told the ECHO they have been lifelong friends, growing up in L8.
Jo said: “I can’t think of anyone I’m genuinely closer with than Kush. We’ve been friends our entire lives and our parents are friends.”
Kush added: “Our parents were super excited when we told them about Race Across the World. They are adventurous too, Jo’s mum has been to China and my mum likes to travel a lot. So obviously they want their kids to do the same, it just made sense.”
While Jo and Kush are the youngest contestants on the show, they didn’t let their age get in the way of their eagerness to succeed against their opponents.
Jo shared how they were able to use their age to their advantage. He said: “I didn’t really compare myself to the other teams in that aspect. I think it was another advantage. I was actually glad we were younger because some people did underestimate us.
“People assumed we’d be more nervous being younger but I think we proved that’s not the case. When Molly and Andrew were 10 Euros short, they asked us and because we were younger, people expected us to help out.
“But really it’s a level playing ground, and I think we surprised Andrew with what we were capable of.”
One thing viewers picked up on when the series launched was Jo and Kush’s passion for their home city and the powerful way they portrayed their Merseyside roots on screen.
On social media, viewers were quick to praise them, with one saying: “Jo and Kush making me very proud to be Scouse. Boss lads!”
Another said: “Those two Scouse lads on #raceacrosstheworld are top class” while another wrote: “The two #Scouse lads on #RaceAcrossTheWorld are such nice kids! Best of luck kiddas!”
The two best friends spoke to the ECHO about using their Scouse charm to help them on their journey. Kush said: “It really helped us talking to strangers. There’s a stereotype that northerners are super friendly but I think Liverpool is even greater.”
They hope to make Liverpool proud by being representatives for the city on TV and they seem to be succeeding already. Kush shared he has already been praised while out and about.
He said: “I was in The Grapes the other day and some lady pointed at me, I thought she was just a friend of my mum’s but she said ‘omg you’re Kush from TV’.”
He added: “That has started happening a bit and I can’t lie, I love it, it’s a great conversation starter. The first thing she said to me was ‘I’m so glad you’re representing L8 and Toxteth on TV’. So I hope we’re doing Liverpool proud.”
Jo agreed as he told the ECHO: “I think we represent Liverpool well, and with both of us having mixed heritage, I think that shows a different side to the city.”
This year’s series kickstarted in Rome. But as Jo and Kush embarked on their incredible journey, they were shocked to run into a fellow Scouser on the start line.
Margo is taking part alongside her brother-in-law Mark, from London. For Jo and Kush, it was comforting to meet someone from home and they immediately bonded.
Kush said: “When I found out Margo was from Liverpool it was boss. I love her and Mark to bits. I’ve had a few people come up to me and say they know Margo, we have a lot of mutuals and now we genuinely hang out.
“We did a viewing party together for the first episode and it was so nice. On-screen we were in a competition but outside of that we’re friends.”
Jo added: “It was nice seeing another Liverpudlian and it was definitely unexpected. We thought we’d have people from everywhere and we had someone a 10 minute drive away, it was mad.”
Jo and Kush described the experience as life-changing, and they’ve picked up a wide range of skills along the way. While they couldn’t share any spoilers on the outcome of Race Across the World, they both know they’ve got the bug for travelling the world and this isn’t the end of their journey.
Jo said: “Travelling is a completely different experience to being at home and going to uni.” Kush added: “I’ve not applied to uni yet, after the whole experience I’m already thinking about where I can go next.”
Race Across the World airs tonight at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer
