Life after winning Race Across the World

"The idea of doing nothing is knackering to me," says former Race Across the World winner Alfie Watts.

He is speaking from his home in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, on the rare occasion he is actually in it.

Last year the 22-year-old spent 192 days in hotels around the globe, more than half the year.

This year his itinerary has already been non-stop: a day trip to Egypt's Great Pyramids, canyoning in Madeira and trekking through Bosnia.

In between these adventures he has taken his first steps into the world of broadcasting as co-host of The Detour, the official BBC podcast about the show that first propelled him into the public eye.

His relentless schedule often keeps producers on edge, he confesses: "Honestly, I think I give the execs of this show an absolute heart attack."

Just this week an oversold flight from Thailand nearly caused him to miss a recording session, causing a scramble back to the UK to ensure he was in the studio on time.

"I hate downtime. Downtime to me is just pointless," Watts explains. "The idea of just sitting down and not being productive... that idea just has never sat with me at all."

"If we're sat in the office, and it doesn't happen very often, and there's nothing to do then it's like, 'right what projects are we going to come up with so that we are doing something'... There's just a constant stream of thoughts."

This dedication to furthering his career has come at a cost, some friendships have faded since he crossed the finish line in Lombok, Indonesia, and there is no time for dating, but for now he says he is channelling his restlessness into his goals.

His hectic lifestyle is not merely a result of TV fame, it is a evolution of the mindset that got him to the race starting line in the first place.

Before Race Across the World, Watts was already "working every hour that God gave" to increase the number of stamps in his passport.

His days began at 04:00 with a four-hour shift at Sainsbury's, followed by a full day of teaching and ending with football refereeing, a job he has done since he was 14.

On top of this he was pursuing a dream career as an air traffic controller, having been accepted onto a scheme run by NATS, which provides air traffic control services in the UK.

The money he earned was immediately reinvested into his travel dreams, taking regular trips with friends such as his future Race teammate Owen Wood.

After Race aired to more than five million people, Watts saw an opportunity to build his profile on social media.

While TV fame helped land brand collaborations on social media, his viewership was not growing and in his hunt for management he received about 350 rejections.

His breakthrough came when he realised there was a gap in the market for a young person giving fun, light-hearted advice on affordable travel, without flaunting a luxury globe-trotting lifestyle.

He explains: "I realised that what people were going to know me for was long buses, arduous travel, travelling with cash, travelling on a budget, that kind of thing.

"Once I'd got the niche down of like, OK, actually people do trust me when it comes to me telling them what flights they can get for £20 or whatever, that's when I kind of nailed it down and that's when I really started to grow."

Watts shared videos of him turning up at London Luton Airport and booking the cheapest flight he could find and seeing where he would end up.

Eventually his viewing numbers made it possible to hire a school friend to help with filming and editing his content.

Maintaining his relevance is perhaps what led the BBC to invite him to front The Detour, the official Race Across The World podcast.

He co-presents with broadcaster Tyler West, who Watts takes "great pleasure" in reminding did not actually win when he competed in the celebrity version of the show.

The former champion believes the pair would make the perfect team if there was ever an "all-star" version of the show featuring former contestants.

"I think I'd drive Tyler up the wall with the insistence of doing the cheapest thing at the cheapest time, no matter what consequences that would have for us," he muses.

It has been two years since Watts and Wood first appeared on BBC One, stood at the start line in Japan, his life has shifted so rapidly since then he struggles to imagine where he could be two years from now.

But when pressed on his next big goal he confesses he wants to swap the departures lounge for the ballroom: "I'd love to do Strictly."

"I am so, so rubbish at dancing, that for me is a different type of challenge in my life.

"Having to master a skill with the pressure of millions watching it. I'd just love to see how I'd cope in that situation.

"It's absolutely nothing to do with the money or the status of the show, it's the challenge... That's addictive to me."

Race Across the World: The Detour is on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds every Thursday at 21:00.

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