Race Across The World’s Zainib and Mobeen open up about adoption dreams ahead of final

Psychiatrist Zainib Khan and husband Mobeen get emotional opening up about their difficulties having a family and plans to adopt in tonight’s final of Race Across The World.

The 32-year-old and Mobeen, 31, a trauma orthopaedic surgeon and trainee registrar, bag a lift with truck driver Brett on their last lift to the St John’s finish line.

When he makes small talk about what stories they’ll be able to tell their children about the adventure, the floodgates open.

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Zainib, from Glasgow, said: “We’ve been considering adoption for a while but for whatever reason it hasn’t happened, so when we met Brett it was destiny.

“We hadn’t met anyone who had been adopted so to get his perspective was so inspiring.

“He was such a nice man and spoke so openly and candidly to us. It was a surreal and inspiring experience.”

Mobeen, who will be seen breaking down, admitted talking about it was unexpected.

He said: “I don’t show emotion often, so to become teary in front of a stranger was a shock even to me.

“Speaking on the programme about it was also rather unexpected.

“Through our experiences and meeting people, it became a topic we talked about on a few occasions.

“We’d both love to be parents for sure. We have had a privileged and loving upbringing, so we feel we have it in us to do the same.”

Race Against the World couple Zainib & Mobeen take time out for some fun during the final push to St John’s in Canada

Glaswegian Zainib and Mobeen, from Manchester, met at Glasgow University in 2010 and after they graduated he carried on working in the city for a further two years before they both moved to his home town in 2017.

In a rut dominated by work and finding it difficult to start a family, the pair decided to try for the BBC adventure series Race Across The World, which returned this year after a three-year break because of Covid.

Tonight, after eight episodes, we find out which of the five pairs of travellers win following a 10,000-mile (16,000-kilometre) journey across six time zones from one side of Canada to the other.

Each duo was given just £2498.13, the cash equivalent of the airfare, to make it to their destination and with no phone or credit cards, they had to hitch or work their way across the vast continent.

Race Across The World 2023 group shot (L-R) Monique, Ladi, Tricia, Cathie, Claudia, Kevin, Zainib, Mobeen, Marc and Michael

While Zainib found it hardest not to have cards to pay her way out of situations, for Mobeen it was not having a phone and access to information.

Mobeen said: “I kept reaching for my pocket thinking my phone had vibrated only to realise it wasn’t there. Eventually I really came to enjoy not having it.

“It was rather peaceful and liberating not having constant information being given to you.”

The pair are in the lead when tonight’s episode opens and they are trying to get to Halifax.

They won’t say whether they’ve won but if they do take home the £20,000 prize, they admit they’ll be boring and put it towards paying off their mortgage. Whatever the outcome, the trip has brought the couple closer together.

A year after they set off on their adventure, Zainib reflected: “The whole experience has only strengthened our relationship. We spent seven or eight weeks together, 24 hours a day.

“We enjoyed that time together and worked really well.”

Mobeen added: “I am so grateful to have done it with Zainib and have so many great memories. It’s given us a different perspective to life. You should always take yourself out of your comfort zone and seek out new adventures.”

The pair also reckon they gave it their best shot. Zainib said: “We wouldn’t change our tactics, I think we did it well.

“We budgeted well and had the best experiences and adventures.”

In tonight’s final, they struggle to get to Halifax.

Mobeen said: “It was a tough start to the leg as there were no transport options but we were glad to find out in the morning when getting the bus the next one out would be a few hours later.

“We’d no idea where everyone else was throughout the leg, so there was that worry others had caught up and passed us. We kept it together and pushed till the end.”

After the show finished, they went back to work and took about a month to re-acclimatise to normality. But they have caught the travel bug and booked their next adventure.

Zainib & Mobeen are off on their next adventure at the end of the month

Mobeen said: “We have bought ourselves a pair of Interrail passes and will be going across Europe at the end of the month to Istanbul.

“One night each in Paris and Bucharest, followed by two back-to-back night trains. We’ve definitely caught the bug.”

Tonight’s final episode sees the three remaining couples going through Nova Scotia, and Mobeen revealed his wife made sure everyone knew she was a Scot.

He laughed: “Zainib proudly donned her purple hoodie which had Scotland on it throughout the race. It definitely helped as there are a lot of people in Canada with connections to Scotland. It was also a good conversation starter.”

And while they haven’t lived in Scotland since 2017, they regularly return to see Zainib’s family.

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Mobeen said: “I love Scotland. If it ever becomes independent, I’ll be applying for a Scottish passport.

“If it wasn’t for my love of Manchester United (I’m a season ticket holder) I’d definitely consider moving back.

“Glasgow and Manchester are two very similar cities, they both have football teams which dislike each other! I consider both cities as home.”

● The Race Across The World final is on tonight, BBC1, at 9pm. Race Across the World: The Reunion follows at 10.40pm.