An eliminated contestant from Rob Brydon’s new BBC gameshow has spoken out.
A contestant on Destination X has revealed what the BBC One gameshow is really like.
Deborah became the first player eliminated from the competition in last night’s premiere, losing her chance at winning £100,000.
The crime writer, 62, was one of 13 strangers participating in Rob Brydon’s adventure series. The players embark on a trip of a lifetime around Europe.
As the continent is transformed into a lifesize board game, the participants are tasked with trying to guess where they might be in the world after suffering from sensory deprivation on board a coach and being given a mixture of clues and red herrings.
READ MORE: Lioness star Chloe Kelly admits ‘I needed to find happiness again’ as she opens up on ‘dark’ timeREAD MORE: Strictly Come Dancing pro teases ‘we’re getting close’ in probe over 2025 line-up
In a blend of The Traitors and Race Across The World, the contestants must work through the lies and deceit they’re up against, with each episode seeing the person who guesses furthest from the real location sent home.
Last night, Deborah became the first Destination X star eliminated, after three had already been left behind at the airport and one had quit.
She’s now revealed in an exclusive interview what the experience was really like, and what viewers didn’t get to see.
“I had the best time,” she reflected. “There’s such a great bunch of guys on the bus, and a massive team that looks after you.
“It is all a bit surreal, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Commenting on her close bond with her co-stars, she went on: “The BBC has only got an hour, but we were on that bus for hours and hours, they showed clips of me looking discombobulated all the time.
“But in between those points, there were times I had to get off the bus and walk away because I was laughing so much.”
After host Rob revealed one behind-the-scenes secret, that there was a convoy of porta-loos travelling behind the bus, Deborah then exposed the grim realities of living on that coach for days.
“You saw the loo on the bus, it’s not even Harry Potter’s cupboard under the stairs. And you’re so close to people all the time.”
She laughed: “You come out of there and people ask, ‘how did you get on?’”
In addition to sensory deprivation onboard the bus, in the first episode, the contestants were asked to wear goggles while flying in an aeroplane, where Deborah revealed she even had a little nap.
But being unable to see their surroundings while travelling did risk taking its toll when it came to travel sickness.
Deborah said: “The medic came along and said, ‘Does anybody get sea sickness, I’ve got some tablets,’ so at that stage in the proceedings we said, ‘Yeah, I’ll have it,’ but we didn’t know [about the helicopter], we thought it was just because the bus was going to go around some wiggly, windy things.
“So I had a tablet, yeah, and we were on the helicopter for a long time, and you can’t see anything, so I’m not going to lie, I had a bit of a sleep.”
Despite being “gutted” at being the first to lose out on the competition, it was a “once in a lifetime” opportunity for Deborah.
She explained that she decided to go on Destination X because she started to realise “there’s more sand at the bottom of the egg timer than there is at the top”.
“You need to start having some adventures and living your life, because to not do that is disrespectful to those people who didn’t get to have a bit more life,” she said, revealing other adventures she’s been on, including near-fatal incidents while skiing and scuba diving.
She’s now set to take on an entirely different challenge, as she prepares for an Arctic expedition next year, working with the Sue Ryder charity.
“I’m checking on my fitness because I’ve had both hips replaced and a stomach implant thing… but the guy in the Arctic thinks I’ll be alright to do it,” she said.
“I did Tough Mudder over the weekend, last Saturday, and that was the hardest thing I’d done in my life, but I think the Arctic will be harder.”
Echoing her adventurous spirit, when asked if she had plans for the prize money, she added: “We’d all like a bit more, but I did it for the adventure, money can’t buy that adventure and those experiences.”
Destination X continues tonight at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.