Beau Ryan is back with the most “brutal” season of The Amazing Race Australia 2023 yet and this time, celebrities and their family and friends will be racing around the world.
Trading their lives of luxury and putting their relationships to the ultimate test, the duos will face challenges, pit stops and detours like they’ve never experienced before, proving to be one hell of a race!
Speaking on Mediaweek and Chattr’s The Entertainment Hotline Podcast, Ryan admitted that the places — which include India, Malaysia, Borneo and Cambodia — have some of the toughest conditions they’ve ever had to face.
“This season is incredible. The conditions are tough in terms of cities and countries,” he said. “We go to India and it’s brutal. Whether you’re just travelling by yourself or with family and friends, it’s hard to get around. Now picture that with no phone, no bearings, the language barrier, currency problems, toilet, and fatigue. And then just repeat that every day for a month. And then it gets hotter.
“Like India is hot but it’s dry. It’s like 35/40 degrees. It is just ridiculous and it tests people. Fortunately for them, you sort of get conditioned to a country, but after that four or five days, when you’re finally getting into the timezone, you finally get your bearings, and you then go to another country.”
Bec Judd and Kate Twigley. Ten
The celebrity teams have a very different kind of motivation
This year, the teams — which include Grant and Chezzi Denyer, Jackie and Ben Gillies, Alli Simpson and mum Angie and Bec Judd and sister Kate Twigley to name a few — are not only “good talent” but they’re playing for various charities, which Ryan says gave them additional motivation to win.
“They all want to win for their charity,” he said, before adding that past contestants were competing for $250k and two cars, something that would “change” their life.
“You’re going to do whatever it takes,” he said. “And for charity, I thought, ‘Well, if push comes to shove, and you’re with your partner or your mum or your brother, would you do that? Would you eat that? Would you go in with a snake or get down with the shark? Would you actually do that?’
“And they did. They actually did it because they’re all so invested in their charities that they will do anything to win. And I’ll be honest, not that it surprised me, but it took me a while to appreciate how invested they were.”
Alli and Angie Simpson, Grant and Chezzi Denyet and Bec Judd and Kate Twigley. Ten
As for who leads the teams throughout the race, Ryan says it’s more “level” than in the past.
“A lot of the time the person that you would least expect is sort of driving the bus, which is really eye-opening,” he said. “They’re more levelled. The leader switches as well throughout the episodes and throughout the challenges and it’s just a great dynamic.”
Adding to this, he said that the experience “humanises” our celebrities from the very first episode.
“At the end of the day, we’re performance, right? We’re all entertainers. Everyone in this industry tries to make people feel something so seeing them so raw and exposed is something that is a show in itself.
“There’s a lot of emphasis on story and people’s relationships, which doesn’t really happen in the previous seasons.”
Jackie Gillies. Ten
Beau Ryan on why a celebrity season was the obvious next step
After so many seasons with regular folk, the popular TV host admitted that it was high time for a celebrity edition due to the format of the show needing a reinvigoration.
“People watch it and watch a template and it just keeps going,” he said. “We’d shot three seasons in a row over four years and mixed it up. We’ve added teams, we had a world record of 20 teams a few years ago and we just wanted to go to the next level where it’s sort of like a Survivor model and… the time was now four or five years in.”
The Amazing Race Australia 2023: Celebrity Edition begins at 7.30 pm on Wednesday, October 4 on 10 and 10Play.