Sashay Away! BBC Axes Drag Race UK Citing ‘Significant Financial Pressures’

The BBC is canning RuPaul’s Drag Race UK – a decision that, in my household, will bring the number of regularly watched programmes on the Beeb down from one to zero. It’s a decision that will no doubt please enemies of LGBTQ+ culture, but otherwise seems inexplicable. For a start, Drag Race UK regularly pulls in 1 million viewers a week, which hardly seems like a show in its death throes (even if this is down from a previous high of 1.5 million).

via: Pink News

The BBC has confirmed RuPaul’s Drag Race UK will leave the broadcaster after 11 series and move to WOW Presents Plus, citing “significant financial pressures” and required savings.

A BBC spokesperson said: “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.”

They added: “As the BBC continues to navigate significant financial pressures and deliver the savings required of us, we have had to make some very difficult choices, none of which have been taken lightly.”

The spokesperson also said: “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.”

The BBC said the programme is not disappearing from its platforms immediately. The spokesperson said: “We are certain that viewers will enjoy the eighth series, which is currently airing on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three.”

Why Drag Race UK is moving

The Sun reports the show has been dropped as part of cost-cutting, and that viewing figures have reportedly fallen from averages of 1.5 million to around 1 million in recent years. It also reports the series debuted in 2019 and has helped make household names of queens including La Voix, Danny Beard and Tia Kofi.

What it could mean for viewers

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is the UK edition of the global Drag Race franchise, produced by World of Wonder and based on RuPaul’s Drag Race. The show has helped push drag further into UK mainstream entertainment, with contestants often moving into TV, touring, music and brand work, and it has a large online fandom that drives viral moments, memes and catchphrases. It has also been tied to debates about the BBC’s role in representing contemporary culture and marginalised communities on free-to-air platforms, including around Drag Race UK series 8 guest judges and spin-offs such as Drag Race UK vs the World.