Celebrity Race Across the World takes a harrowing turn tonight as Tyler West breaks down while recalling a traumatic moment from his past – witnessing a fatal stabbing when he was just 14.
The TV and radio presenter opens up about seeing the horrifying attack unfold, a memory that still clings to him more than a decade on.
Tyler, now 29, and his girlfriend Molly Rainford, 25, are trekking through the dense Costa Rican jungle when he suddenly becomes tense and on edge. The shift in his demeanour leads to an emotional confession about the violence he saw as a teenager – and the lasting impact it’s had on him.
He tells Molly he is completely outside of his comfort zone, as he is not “in control”.
Hinting at the stabbing, Tyler admits: “If I can control it, I feel I can look after the situation the best I can.
“When I compare it to when I was a teenager, it was on another level. I was petrified of witnessing something that was completely out of my control.
“You want to put a stop to it and feel helpless. I don’t ever want to feel like that in my life ever again.”
Tyler West in tears over brutal stabbing
Tyler explains exactly what happened when he was 14 in a piece to camera. He says he saw a man murdered in the street as he looked out of his bedroom window.
“I was coming home from school one day and there were these three men having an argument outside my house,” Tyler says. “One of the two men threw a really weak punch to the man that was on his own.
“And then one of the men had a 12-inch kitchen knife in his hand. All of a sudden it was me, standing there at my bedroom window at 14 years old, seeing this man get stabbed to death.
“It was one of the most horrific moments of my life.”
Tyler goes on to reflect the fear he felt when he had to give evidence at The Old Bailey in London as the perpetrator stood trial for murder.
“I remember being at the Old Bailey just being petrified of so many factors,” Tyler says. “All these people… might they be able to see me? Will they know I’m testifying? I didn’t really know how to process it.
“It had such a knock on effect to my metal health. I was in doors for two years.”
Tyler’s voice breaks and he begins to cry. He adds: “It matured me really quick. It was just really hard.”
‘I had no control over what was happening’
Back in the jungle, Tyler admits the experience has made him want to “protect others” now he is older.
“For the last 14 years, I’ve been trying to embrace that control because it’s like a comfort blanket for me,” he says. “It’s had the reverse effect, I don’t want anyone else to be hurt now.”
Molly admits: “I always feel like you’re protective of me.” She then praises Tyler for stepping out of his comfort zone to take part in Celebrity Race Across the World.
She adds: “That 14 year old would never believe you are doing this. I am proud of you. This is fear-facing territory.”
Tyler was living on the notorious St Helier council estate in London when the murder happened.
The radio presenter previously opened up about the incident when competing in the 2022 series of Strictly Come Dancing. At the time, he told the Daily Mail: “I could have ended up a mess, unable to do anything. And because of where I grew up there was always the option of drugs, crime and gangs, which was the way a lot of kids I knew went.
“Everything about who I am today is because of that horrific incident and the boy I was then. I had no control over what was happening, I didn’t think I had a future until I finally realised it was down to me to make things as good as I possibly could for me and my family.”
Celebrity Race Across the World leaderboard
Tonight’s Celebrity Race Across the World picks up with Tyler and Molly battling to reach the fourth checkpoint in Central America – but this leg comes with an unexpected twist. All teams are forced to fly from Honduras to Costa Rica after the BBC’s licence to film in Nicaragua was rejected, shaking up the route entirely.
Molly and Tyler head into the episode riding high at the top of the leaderboard after a surprise victory last week. It was an especially impressive feat given they’d been hit with severe food poisoning en route to checkpoint three.
Roman Kemp and his sister Harleymoon are currently propping up the bottom of the standings, while Anita Rani and her dad Bal sit in second place, with Dylan Llewellyn and his mum Jackie in third.
But with a brand-new leg, unpredictable terrain and tensions rising, the rankings could be about to shift all over again…
Read more: Anita Rani and her dad Bal are hailed to ‘win’ Celebrity Race Across the World after touching scene
Celebrity Race Across the World continues at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Thursday November 27, 2025.
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