Matt Baker and Julia Bradbury - S1.E3
Overview
In a re-enactment of Jules Verne's literary odyssey, six pairs of celebrities race against the clock to raise money for 2009's BBC Children in Need. They form a global relay to circumnavigate the world in 80 days without flying.
The celebrity relay continues with Matt Baker and Julia Bradbury from Countryfile. Can they travel 3,700 miles from Kazakhstan to China in just 14 days?
Finding themselves close to the Kazakh city of Semey and intrigued by its dark past as a nuclear testing site, they take a detour to meet an eccentric nuclear scientist with a museum full of radioactive exhibits. Later, a brush with the Russian customs police sees them ordered off the train and they must race through the night by road to make their connection on the Trans-Siberian railway.
In Mongolia they spend the night in a traditional tent, called a 'ger', with a family of nomads and eat some very fresh goat stew. Visiting one of Mongolia's biggest festivals, the 'Naddam', Matt takes on a local wrestling champion with painful consequences. They resume their journey but receive an unexpected call with some bad news...
Frank Skinner narrates.