'I had football withdrawals during TV race show'

Veteran sports broadcaster Jeff Stelling said spending weeks without his phone while taking part in Celebrity Race Across The World meant he could imagine his beloved Hartlepool United FC were winning every game.

Stelling and his son Matt are one of four duos taking part in the show this year, which sees teams traverse countries with a limited budget and technology.

Speaking to BBC Radio Tees, Stelling, 71, from Hartlepool, said the experience was uplifting but he suffered from football withdrawal symptoms not being able to get the scores.

"Actually, as a Hartlepool fan, that's a blooming relief," he said. "Of course, you can fantasise that we're winning every game when we're not."

Stelling and his son joined singer-songwriter Ella Eyre and her friend Nana, influencer Princess Andre and her brother, musician Junior Andre, and musician Sam Ryder and his tour manager Kaz on the show.

They left their phones, credit cards and home comforts behind on a race from Borneo across South East Asia to Melbourne, Australia.

"You don't realise how dependent you are on your phone, not just for calls, you book transport on your phone, you've got Google Translate on your phone as well," Stelling said.

Stelling said he and his son were in tears at some points and would encourage each other.

"When people were kind, and they were so much, regardless of race, or religion, or language, people were unbelievably kind," he said.

"That was one of the most uplifting things about the whole experience is witnessing how good people generally are at heart."

Celebrity Race Across The World returns to iPlayer and BBC One at 20:00 GMT.

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