A MAN who won a TV travel show says he is delighted it has been nominated for a TV Bafta.

Emon and his nephew Jamiul Choudhury were crowned winners of BBC Two travel challenge show Race Across The World that gripped the nation at the start of the first lockdown last year.

They travelled 15,000 miles from Mexico City to Ushuaia in Argentina, the world's most southerly city, without flights, phones, the internet or bank cards.

They defeated four other pairs and took the crown by just 20 seconds.

Now Race Across The World has today been nominated in the Reality & Constructed Factual category. It will be battling for the prize alongside MasterChef: The Professionals, The School That Tried To End Racism and The Write Offs.

 

The Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards ceremony takes place on June 6 on BBC One and the British Academy Television Craft Awards will be streamed on Bafta's social channels on May 24.

Emon, 37, of Saltaire, said: "The Bafta nomination is a token of appreciation of what the guys on the show went through.

"The nomination means a great deal to me, but I would be more chuffed for the production team on the show.

"It's a big thing. I'm happy to be nominated.

"It's mad. I'm just a normal guy from Saltaire. I just applied for a show and got lucky.

"I would say to other people thinking of going on a TV show; just go for the challenge and apply. It's a once in a lifetime experience.

"Going on the show changed my outlook on life a lot. Losing the communication for a couple of months while I was on the show was hard."

Emon says appearing on the programme has changed his outlook on life.

In one of the most touching moments of the popular series they were left visibly shaken when they came across a group of barefoot children sleeping rough in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Emon placed everything he can possibly spare in front of the children, including his beloved playing cards, in the hope of bringing some kind of joy to an otherwise desperate situation.

Meanwhile, he is now undertaking a Ramadan run challenge to raise £100,000 to build a school for disadvantaged children in Nepal.

He is looking to run 200k during Ramadan, which runs until Wednesday, May 12, to kick off his latest fundraising project.

It is the first fundraising event he will hold between now and October 3 when he takes part in this year's London Marathon.

Emon will complete the 200k challenge by doing separate runs of between 5km and 10km each day, initially going along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal towpath between Saltaire and Bingley.

He will be keeping to Ramadan requirements of fasting during the day and will complete each of his runs from around 6pm each day.

Go to justgiving.com/fundraising/runemonrun to make a donation.