It’s the Race Across The World finale, and Love Island is back: What’s coming up this week
This week, it’s the Race Across the World finale on BBC One, with the competitors battling to reach the finish line first.
But that’s not all the next seven days have in store.
A fresh batch of singletons will be heading into the Love Island villa, it’s the finale of I Kissed A Boy, Louis Theroux will be speaking to Ed Sheeran on his podcast, gaming fans have MindsEye to look forward to, and Rebel Wilson and Jason Isaacs are starring in new pop musical Juliet & Romeo.
Read on for what’s coming up this week…
Get set for the Race Across the World finale
Another frenetic Race Across the World comes to an end on Wednesday.
For anyone who hasn’t seen the Bafta-winning BBC One show, it features a number of duos racing around the globe for a £20,000 prize.
This year’s pairs have been tasked with travelling around 14,000km – starting at the Great Wall of China and taking in the sights across Nepal and India.
The scenery has been breath-taking, but for me, this show is as much about its contestants as the race and travelling.
Everyone taking part has a story to tell, and they are always incredibly relatable – from bickering teenage sweethearts Fin and Sioned, to mother and son Caroline and Tom.
This year’s lineup also included sisters Elizabeth and Letitia, former married couple Yin and Gaz, and brothers Brian and Melvyn.
It’s another summer of Love (Island)…
Love Island is back, and if you’re a fan of the show, you’ll be getting set for another summer of fun, flirtation and plenty of drama.
The latest season of the reality dating show starts on ITV2 and ITVX on Monday, a decade after it first hit our screens.
This year’s line-up includes a motivational speaker, a gold trader and a landscape gardener.
However, one Love Islander’s journey has ended before the new series has even started.
Kyle Ashman, 23, was due to enter the villa but was axed after The Sun newspaper revealed he had been arrested over a fight at a funeral earlier this year.
In an Instagram post Kyle, who was released by police without further action, said he was “innocent”.
After that rocky start, ITV’s bosses will be hoping for smoother sailing over the coming weeks – and also to continue the viewing boost that last year’s series enjoyed.
…just as I Kissed a Boy comes to an end
Tonight, it’s the series 2 finale of the UK’s first ever gay dating show, I Kissed a Boy, on BBC Three.
As the name might suggest, the format sees 10 singles matched up, and introduced for the first time – with a kiss to test out their chemistry.
Over the past month, we’ve seen budding romance, wandering eyes and lots of drama in the Masseria – all overseen by Dannii Minogue in her role as Cupid.
One of the remaining contestants, Jack S, says there is more drama in this last episode “than there has been all series”, while another, Ruben, says you should “expect the unexpected”.
If you miss the grand finale, you can catch up on the whole series on BBC iPlayer.
Ed Sheeran talks family, his rise to stardom, and his Mini Cooper
By Guy Lambert, culture reporter
Ed Sheeran blew fans away when he made a surprise appearance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Liverpool last month.
Just days later he that was caught off guard, when he took a tumble on stage in front of 70,000 people, kicking off his European tour in Madrid.
Ed’s 2025 Mathematics Tour will see him play his biggest tunes in venues across 13 European countries, as well as tracks from his upcoming album Play, which is released in September.
On Tuesday, he’s making a safer appearance on Louis Theroux’s podcast, which will be available on Spotify.
I am told that the conversation will be a journey through his career, from the challenges he faced breaking into the industry, to performing on the biggest stages like Glastonbury in 2017.
In the MindsEye of the beholder…
By Tom Richardson, Newsbeat reporter
If you know games, you know the name.
Leslie Benzies is hailed as one of the key minds behind the success of the record-breaking Grand Theft Auto series.
After quitting developer Rockstar Games in 2016, he launched his own studio, Build A Rocket Boy (BARB).
So you might expect a buzz around MindsEye, BARB’s debut effort, releasing on PS5, Xbox and PC from Tuesday.
On first glance the single-player game has big GTA vibes with car chases, shootouts and cinematic cut-scenes, but its makers say it’s also the start of an ambitious “multi-narrative universe”.
However, the run-up to its release has been dampened by some less-than-enthusiastic previews calling out issues and airing concerns over its quality.
BARB vowed to fix these before launch day, but it remains to be seen if this is a narrative it can turn in its favour.
It’s Romeo & Juliet, but not as you know it
By Danny Fullbrook, culture reporter
If you’ve ever wished Romeo & Juliet swapped Shakespearean verse for pop anthems, then Rebel Wilson’s latest film might be your perfect match
Juliet & Romeo is the first part in a planned pop musical trilogy, hitting cinemas for one night only on 11 June.
Filmed on location in fair Verona the film stars Clara Rugaard (Black Mirror) and Jamie Ward (His Dark Materials) as the star-crossed lovers.
The supporting players includes Jason Isaacs, Rupert Everett and Sir Derek Jacobi.
Wilson said she was interested in playing Juliet’s mother, Lady Capulet, as it was a chance to play against type.
Critics have seen it a little differently. A one star review from The Washington Post called it as “a very special kind of hell”.
However Maggie Lovitt at Collider was a bit kinder when she said: “Juliet & Romeo isn’t necessarily a good film, but it is a very fun film.”
