After news broke this week that Channel 10 had axed this year’s season of The Amazing Race Australia, an insider is now claiming that the reality show wasn’t just “in talks”. In fact, it was already deep in casting mode, with celebs actively being courted and Zoom auditions underway.
Production sources have told PEDESTRIAN.TV that the network was well into the process of pulling together its next celebrity edition, with filming locked in for March and a six-week international shoot planned.
“Yes, this season was very much happening — until it suddenly wasn’t,” they claimed.
“The Amazing Race is a huge series to produce. The cast last season was phenomenal, but those names don’t come cheap. Once you start stacking celebrities like that, the budget blows out very quickly.”
The Amazing Race Australia 2026 cast leaks
Sources say producers had been holding Zoom meetings with potential cast members for weeks, with multiple reality TV stars being directly told there was space on the lineup for them. This includes contestants from the recent season of Big Brother Australia, like besties Emily Dale and Allana Jackson and lovers Holly Young and Colin Ridley.
“The Big Brother cast were genuinely excited,” one insider said. “A lot of them were told there’d be opportunities coming up on Amazing Race.”
The plan was clearly to keep that Channel 10 reality universe cross-pollinating, just like previous seasons with MasterChef’s Melissa Leong and Australian Survivor’s George Mladenov.
Conversations were also reportedly happening early on with Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little about joining the race together — a pairing that would’ve instantly become the season’s headline act.
“With celebrity seasons, a huge chunk of the budget always goes to securing one or two massive names,” the source explained. “Carrie and Tommy were absolutely seen as the main drawcard.”
Carrie and Tommy weren’t the only A-listers on the wish list, with Jackie “O” Henderson and Pip Edwards in talks with producers.
“They were being chased to do the race,” the insider added. There were even discussions about pairing Jackie with her longtime manager Gemma O’Neill to create a powerhouse best-friends-on-the-road dynamic.
Beyond headline celebs, the casting net was wide and full of fan-favourite TV faces.
P.TV has been told there were also conversations happening with former Gogglebox favourites Isabelle Silbery and Kerry Milligan, as well as several Neighbours stars, following the show’s cancellation.
“There was even early chatter about Alan Fletcher (aka Dr Karl Kennedy) racing alongside his wife Jennifer Hansen,” the source continued. “It was shaping up to be a really strong cast, and there was a lot of excitement around it.”
Interestingly, hardcore fans had already begun calling for a return to a civilian season, swapping celebs for everyday Aussies racing around the world again.
Channel 10 addresses speculation
While the reality show’s upcoming 10th season was originally scheduled to air later this year, a Channel 10 spokesperson confirmed to P.TV on Thursday that it will not be broadcast in 2026.
“We’ve been working on another brilliant new season of The Amazing Race Australia, but due to several factors, including travel logistics, it will not be part of our 2026 program schedule,” they said.
The network added that the series “is a huge show to plan, produce and shoot”, but said it had only been “rested”, not cancelled. Host Beau Ryan then announced on Friday morning that the series will be returning in 2027, with filming likely taking place at the end of the year, so we’ll have to stay tuned to see what happens then.
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