BBC Race Across the World star shares poignant way it helped with tragedy

BBC star Kola Bokinni has revealed that Race Across the World allowed him to process his father's death after going "completely off the grid".

The 32-year-old has a very busy lifestyle and is often spotted jet-setting around the world.

He was catapulted to fame after starring in the hit Apple TV series Isaac McAdoo in Ted Lasso and confessed has never gone without contact with the outside world. Kola exclusively told the Express that the show brought to the surface lots of emotions that he had buried.

At "low moments" Kola shared that all he could think about was his dad, but found an inner strength which allowed him to strike up close relationships with his co-stars. He travelled across Brazil passing five checkpoints throughout the series.

The Hollywood actor crossed the length of South America to finally reach the finish line in Frutillar in Southern Chille. He said: "There was a lot of low moments, I can't lie."

"When you haven't got distractions your mind races. You know it was very very fresh about my dad," he continued. Before adding: "My dad passed away in October which is coming up to a year now. And it forced me to face stuff that I had been hiding."

Kola shared that it was as tough as it appeared on the BBC show as he had to take "18-hour buses, no showers and brushing your teeth out a water bottle and eating biscuits for dinner."

"Opening up is hard it is not a fun thing to do. To face your demons and face things you are covering up for a long time, which I had to," he said.

His father Taiwo died after battling dementia and he has since become an ambassador for Alzheimer's Research UK charity.

In an interview with BBC Breakfast in 2023 he posted a clip of his interview to his Instagram account. He wrote alongside the clip: "Every 3 minutes dementia steals a happily ever after... This was an incredibly hard conversation to have because it is so close to my heart.

"We have to fight this hideous disease that has destroyed so many lives. Dementia doesn't just destroy the victim's life, it destroys everyone around that person, slowly, little by little.

"That is why I am standing with @alzheimersresearchuk and backing their ChangeTheEnding campaign. This hard-hitting, truthful and non-sugar-coated short film voiced by the wonderful Olive Colmon shows the devastation this disease is doing. But research gives us hope and Alzheimer's Research UK is the charity that led us to a cure," he added.

The show has become one of the nation's most talked about television programmes after pulling in over 3.7 million viewers each week, topping previous viewing figures.

He was pipped to the post and placed second on the show, after being beat by Radio 2 star Scott Mills. Kola confessed that he looked back with pride as initially, he did not take it seriously and was just there for "the ride."

"I am proud of placing second because I didn't have a scooby. I did not have a clue what I was doing in the beginning/ At the first leg I didn't know people were going to race race, I thought everyone was in Brazil and would be taking it easy. Drinking caipirinhas and that. Then I realised. I got the hard truth," he continued.

Race Across the World is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.