The Host of ‘The Amazing Race’ Phil Keoghan Was Once Detained in Ukraine While Teams Were Racing
When The Amazing Race teams race to the pit stop, the face that always greets them is host Phil Keoghan. He informs them of their placement on that leg, whether first, last, or somewhere in between. And then Keoghan chats with them for a bit to discuss their challenges during that episode. However, there was one time when Keoghan almost didn’t make it to the finish line before the contestants in The Amazing Race.
Phil Keoghan has always been the host of ‘The Amazing Race’
The Amazing Race premiered in 2001 with Phil Keoghan as the CBS reality competition show’s host. Keoghan had initially auditioned for the network’s other new series, Survivor, but lost to Jeff Probst. However, CBS liked Keoghan so much that they offered him the hosting role for The Amazing Race, and he accepted.
Like Probst, Keoghan has been the host of his respective show since its inception. And he is also a producer, so he has a big say in how The Amazing Race is made.
Currently, CBS finished airing The Amazing Race 34 in December 2022 and has yet to announce a renewal for season 35. However, thanks to spoilers, we know that The Amazing Race and its host will return for another season. After all, they have already filmed it. It’s just a matter of when The Amazing Race 35 will premiere.
Immigration in Ukraine detained the host during ‘The Amazing Race 10’
During the ninth leg of The Amazing Race 10, the airport in Ukraine detained host Phil Keoghan. The teams were in the midst of a superleg (or a “Keep on Racing” leg) when the arrest occurred.
Keoghan told TMZ, “When I got off the plane in Ukraine, I got held in immigration overnight. I didn’t have the right papers, or so they thought. So they put me in a holding room overnight. Meanwhile, the teams were racing. And there was a concern I wasn’t going to make it to the mat. Thankfully, the U.S. Ambassador there was a huge Amazing Race fan, and she got me out. She stayed up all night to get me out.”
The cast and crew started the leg in Madagascar and flew to Helsinki, Finland, where the teams completed a Detour and a Roadblock before they were instructed to “Keep on Racing.” Their clue informed them that they had to fly to Kyiv, Ukraine, where contestants had to do another Detour and Roadblock before meeting Keoghan at the pit stop.
So while traveling from Finland to Ukraine, The Amazing Race host was detained. Thankfully, everything worked out in the end, and Keoghan was able to get to the pit stop before the teams arrived. However, he cut it close. Reportedly, Keoghan got there only 10 minutes before the first team checked in.
What is Phil Keoghan’s net worth?
All the traveling and confusion is probably worth it for Keoghan since The Amazing Race host makes a pretty penny working on the show.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Keoghan’s net worth is $16 million. And he makes most of his money from hosting and producing The Amazing Race.
His salary is $100,000 per episode. And since there are around 12 episodes per season, Keoghan makes more than $1 million from one season of The Amazing Race.
