Who won Destination X? BBC show names first winner - full recap of 2025 final
Destination X has named its first-ever winner - recap the BBC final 📺🚌
- Destination X has crowned its first-ever winner.
- Rob Brydon hosted the final of the BBC game show.
- But who won the grand prize at the end of the road?
It has been one heck of a journey but Destination X has finished its journey - at least in series one. After weeks of twists and turns, surprises and shocks, the bus has come to the end of the line.
Rob Brydon crowned the very first winner of the BBC game show, which has been a major hit since it debuted back at the end of July. It has reportedly been renewed for a second season - to my own personal relief, we love the show in my house!
Fans were left ‘emotional’ after the audience favourite - the people’s taxi driver - just missed out on making the final last night (August 27). Read more of the reactions here.
One of the finalists revealed the surprising way the players kept themselves entertained in the Destination X bus, at least when the cameras weren’t rolling.
Eagle-eyed viewers also believed that they had cracked the location where the final would end, using a clue from all the way back in the first episode. Talk about foreshadowing!
But what happened in the very first Destination X final? Recap all the action here:
Who was in the Destination X final?
Originally there were 13 players back in the departure lounge in episode one, before three were seemingly eliminated. Those contestants eventually returned, but the cast was whittled down to just three for the final tonight (August 28).
It started on BBC One at 9pm, following the latest MasterChef UK heat. Viewers could also watch the final on iPlayer.
The three finalists are as follows:
- Josh - 26, Dartford - Pilot
- Judith - 28, Bristol - Nuclear Engineer
- Saskia - 25, Birmingham - Marketing Executive
Remind yourself of who was eliminated in the semi-final last night here. Read my recap.
Who won Destination X’s first final?
Full spoilers for Destination X to follow. Don’t read further if you haven’t watched the BBC show’s final tonight (August 28).
Judith was crowned the winner. She become the very first person to win the UK version of the game show.
It was a quiet start to the episode, literally starting with the three remaining players waking-up and complaining about Josh’s snoring. He declared in a VO that he would be the winner saying, “I’ve manifested it”.
Host Rob Brydon seemingly confirmed the final location, telling viewers they were heading to the first city to record a population of over one million. Even without Googling, I think that sounds a lot like Rome.
The players looked back on their favourite moments as well as the ups and downs, and shared what they were most looking forward to once the game was over. A tearful Saskia talked about wanting to see her family again.
It was then time for the penultimate challenge, taking place in a “spooky” sculpture garden with lots of extremely elaborate carved creations. Rob called it the “park of monsters”.
He also revealed that they were playing for golden tickets, not clues to the final location, this time around. The players had to complete puzzles and challenges, based on the journey so far, to win keys to unlock boxes with the tickets in them.
Josh ended up with the most golden tickets - securing two. Saskia managed to get one, but Judith didn’t end up with any. However, Rob did say it didn’t mean her time in the show was over.
After returning to the bus and querying each other on where they could be, Rob shocked the players by opening the windows to reveal they were in Rome. But where would the Destination X in the ancient city be?
The final challenge was to find the landmark that would reveal Destination X and secure for them the grand prize. If only Rome were not such a city of iconic locations, eh.
The person to find Rob at the final location would be the winner. However, first they got to enjoy one final night together, enjoying a glass of bubbly overlooking the city.
Revealing the final challenge, Rob explained that they would have to once again solve puzzles to unlock coordinates, which would take them to the final destination. Saskia declared “no mercy at all”.
They were whizzed around the city on “chariots” - or at least a modern take on it. Motorbikes with sidecars, better them than us!
Daren made a surprise return at one of the puzzles, and Rob revealed that he had a clue that could be accessed by spending a golden ticket. He was not the only familiar face to return - Dawn was back at Judith’s first puzzle as well.
Josh ran into James at his first puzzle - but it was a frosty reunion, with James still blaming the finalist for his exit earlier in the season. Awkward!
After completing the three challenges, the players had to use the coordinates they had gathered to form an X and figure out where Rob was. All that was left then was to race to the finish line.
The cross pointed to the Spanish Steps and all they had to do was reach the top of the 135 steps first. Nothing like a bit of cardio to secure a prize of £100,000.
Judith was the first to arrive and won!
What does the winner of Destination X get?
After all those thousands of kilometres, travelling up, down, and across Europe, the winner will finally head home with a life-changing prize. Judith will walk away with £100,000.
Speaking about what she will do with the money, Judith said: “I would definitely love to treat my family, I would love to travel more and go to parts of the world I have never seen. Just being able to set up a future for myself would be amazing.”
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