“Drag Race UK” began on the British network in 2019, and included iconic winners like Lawrence Chaney and the late returning “All Stars 7” queen The Vivienne.

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK ends at BBC after 8 seasons and ‘very difficult choices’

“Drag Race UK” began on the British network in 2019, and included iconic winners like Lawrence Chaney and the late returning “All Stars 7” queen The Vivienne.

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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September 11, 2026 1:38 p.m. ET

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‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’ judges Alan Carr, Michelle Visage, RuPaul, and Graham Norton. Credit: BBC Three

- The BBC has ended airing *RuPaul’s Drag Race UK* after eight seasons on the network’s iPlayer.

- *Drag Race UK* first premiered in 2019 and launched winners like Lawrence Chaney and the late The Vivienne, who returned to compete on *All Stars 7*.

- WOW Presents Plus will still air a future season of *RuPaul’s Drag Race UK All Stars*.

*RuPaul’s Drag Race UK** *has come to an end — at least at the BBC — after sashaying eight seasons and several iconic winners into the global drag sphere.

The British network announced that the long-running reality competition spin-off would no longer air on the channel’s BBC Three and iPlayer streaming service, ending an eight-season run on the storied platform.

BBC representatives cited in a statement “very difficult choices” and “significant financial pressures” as reasoning for dropping the RuPaul-hosted competition series, which first debuted in 2019.

When reached for comment, a BBC spokesperson tells* * the move was made in order to “deliver the savings required of us” as the network evolves, and that the decision was not “taken lightly.”

The Vivienne as Donald Trump on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’.

World of Wonder/BBC

“We can therefore confirm together with World of Wonder, that *RuPaul’s Drag Race UK* will be leaving the BBC and moving to WOW Presents Plus,” the statement adds. “The BBC is incredibly proud of all eleven series of this groundbreaking show and we would like to thank RuPaul, World of Wonder and everyone involved, both on and off screen. We are certain that viewers will enjoy the eighth series, which is currently airing on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three.” (EW has additionally reached out to World of Wonder for comment.)

While the BBC will no longer air *Drag Race UK*, World of Wonder recently announced that another version of *RuPaul’s Drag Race UK* would return in late 2027 with the first-ever edition of *RuPaul’s Drag Race UK All Stars*. The season is set to bring past *Drag Race UK *contestants back for another shot at the crown, and will air on the internal WOW Presents Plus subscription streaming service — not BBC Three or iPlayer.

The announcement additionally indicated that “our members will also be able to stream all eight seasons of *RuPaul’s Drag Race UK* and three seasons of *RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs. the World*” on WOW Presents Plus.

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The *Vs. the World *spin-off of a spin-off united not only past *Drag Race UK* contestants, but also queens from around the world to win a new style of mini competition.

Across its eight main seasons and three *Vs. the World *editions, *Drag Race UK — *judged by franchise staples like Mama Ru, Michelle Visage, Alan Carr, and Graham Norton* — *has launched several worldwide superstars, from Lawrence Chaney to Blu Hydrangea.

Perhaps the series’ most famous winner, however, remains the late The Vivienne, who died in early 2025 after winning the inaugural *Drag Race UK* competition in 2019.

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’ season 1 cast. BBC/World of Wonder

Though she made a name for herself across other British reality TV shows like *Dancing on Ice *and *Karaoke Club: Drag Edition, *The* *Vivienne returned to compete on *Drag Race*’s first-ever all-winner season, *All Stars 7*, in 2022.

In an interview before her death, The Vivienne told EW that playing Donald Trump during *Drag Race UK*’s *Snatch Game* celebrity impersonation challenge helped her forge an entire career in comedy.

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“To hear RuPaul say that it was like *Saturday Night Live* standard — better than Alec Baldwin — I was like, oh my God, it was just some stupid idea for *Snatch Game*,” she said in an EW interview tied to our cover story on her return to the competition. “I kind of forged a career on doing Donald Trump’s voice. I voice-overed a whole documentary for BBC. It’s kind of mad because I’m just a drag queen taking the mick out of Donald Trump, and you get a call from these huge companies and they’re like, oh, we want you to be Donald Trump. I mean, it’s not the best claim to fame is it? Because we all *love* Trump.”

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Source: “EW RuPaul”