For the 15th season of Beijing Express which kicks off this Thursday at 9:10 p.m., M6 received no less than… 90,000 applications and only retained sixteen. “They are not adventurers by profession. They haven’t all traveled a lot, don’t necessarily speak foreign languages or don’t necessarily have the physique, but they want to share the adventure with someone they like,” explains host Stéphane. Rotenberg.
Eight pairs thus found themselves on the starting line of this edition subtitled Sin the lands of the golden eagle, connecting Kyrgyzstan to Dubai via Uzbekistan and Jordan. To the traditional duo of strangers whom everything opposes (Etienne and Vanessa), are added two couples – the “quarrelsome” Alex and Sylvie, the “dreamers” Fanny and Jérémy –, Belgian brothers (Lucas and Nicolas), Monegasque sisters (Charlotte and Sarah), an inseparable mother and daughter (Arlette and Caroline), as well as Tarik and Ahmed, “joking” cousins. Add to them an “unpublished” pair, bringing together a septuagenarian, Jean-Claude, and his 18-year-old grandson, Axel.
“Raised in Armagnac”
The producer, Thierry Guillaume, is “very proud” of this premiere. “For several seasons, we wanted to have a grandfather and his grandson with us. We often had some in our preselections, but we never managed to keep them until the filming of the program, he says. There are a lot of steps to go through, including very extensive medical tests, and it often happens that people over 60 do not pass these tests. »
“We come from the Gers, we are brought up in Armagnac so, in terms of health, we are in great shape until we are 90, at least! jokes Jean-Claude, joined by 20 minutes. He resumes more seriously: “I go mountain biking, I have always moved a little bit, I watch what I eat and what I drink… I was in a good period where I passed all the tests , to the last, regarding altitude. I was more worried about Axel, as kids don’t pay attention to anything…”
“This is the love of a grandson for his grandfather”
His grandson wouldn’t have missed the opportunity for anything in the world. He dreams of participating in Beijing Express since he was 10 years old. “We were both born on August 8 and, on each birthday, I asked grandpa: “Shall we sign up for the show?” It was like a joke. I thought that the game would no longer exist when I was of age or that my grandpa could no longer do it, ”he confides to us.
“Axel knows all the seasons of Beijing Express, it’s impressive. Jean-Claude watched the program but was unaware of its subtleties. It was fun, he discovered the rules, didn’t understand certain things, ”says Stéphane Rotenberg.
“I thought I was protecting Axel, taking care of him, but after three days, I realized he was the boss. He left with a handicap compared to the other pairs: my age. But he always took me by the hand. That’s the love of a grandson for his grandfather,” says Jean-Claude. Axel, he sweeps the idea that the seven decades of his grandfather could have penalized him. He, who was already used to taking long walks with his grandpa, approached the adventure as “a mega hike”.
“Initiatory journey and passing of the torch”
Both assure it: they did not participate in the program in order to renew or strengthen their ties. “We are already very close. We went there for the experience and, what we experienced, we could not have imagined,” says Jean-Claude.
“In this grandfather/grandson bond, there is an initiatory journey side, passing the torch, learning, wisdom, believes Thierry Guillaume. It’s a story that is very nice to watch and tell. »
This Thursday evening, Axel will have traveled from Montpellier (Hérault) where he studies journalism to the Gers family cradle to discover this first episode of Beijing Express in the company of his grandfather and dive back into these shared memories. He will watch the following ones with his friends but Jean-Claude already warns him: “When you come back for the weekend, we will do the replay! »