Race Around The World - After The Race

After The Race

Although receiving fairly high ratings for its timeslot, Race Around the World was a considerable logistical and financial drain on the publicly funded ABC. In 2000, the series was scaled down into a local version restricted to the Australian continent, entitled Race Around Oz.

A youth orientated program titled "Race Around the Corner" was produced by ABC Children's Unit with students (12-16 years of age) making low-budget local productions in the same style as "Race Around the World".

Host Richard Fidler undertook a few more television hosting gigs, including the short-lived ABC art and culture chat program Vulture.

Most of the racers from the series went on to pursue careers in media and film-making:

• Perhaps the biggest success story amongst the racers has been that of the controversial John Safran. Safran actually came last on the first series (won by Olivia Rousset), despite winning the popular vote. The reason for this was that Safran had been disqualified from one round after submitting a film in which he had covertly filmed priests giving confession in Rio de Janeiro.
• Olivia Rousset, Bentley Dean and Kim Traill have worked as reporters for the SBS program Dateline. Traill's book "Red Square Blues: A Beginner's Guide To The Decline And Fall of the Soviet Union" was published by Harper Collins in September 2009.
• Scott Herford has produced three Australian independent feature films.
• Like John Safran, Tony Wilson went on to host the breakfast show on Melbourne radio station 3RRR, and has written a novel called Players (ISBN 1-920885-58-7).
• During the first series, the initial nine contestants was reduced to eight as young Melbourne contender Alex Musgrove was forced to withdraw due to an extensive toe surgery.