The fourth series of '' RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' began airing on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

on 22 September 2022.

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

returned to his role as main host and head judge, and was again joined on the judging panel by Michelle Visage,

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster, and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeo ...

and

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), known professionally as Graham Norton, is an Irish comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for the comedy chat show ''The Graham Norton Show'' (2007–present) ...

, all of whom returned for their respective fourth series. The series was filmed in

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

in February 2022. The cast for the fourth series was revealed on 7 September 2022 on social media. The cast also featured Dakota Schiffer, the first out

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

to compete in the British version of the show. The winner of the fourth series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' was Danny Beard, with Cheddar Gorgeous as the runner-up.

Production

On 27 October 2021, it was announced via the shows official

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

page, that casting for the fourth series was now open. Applications remained open for two weeks until closing on 10 November 2021.

Hannah Waddingham Hannah Waddingham (born 28 July 1974) is an English actress, singer, and television presenter. She is known for playing businesswoman Rebecca Welton in ''Ted Lasso'' (2020–present), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award and two Critics' Ch ...

revealed herself to be first celebrity guest judge during an interview on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywoo ...

'', hosted by

. The fourth series was the first regular series of the show to be broadcast on

following '' RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World'' earlier in the year, with the show's success being credited in the decision to bring back the previously defunct television channel. On 30 August 2022, a ten-second teaser was released by the BBC to promote the series premiere with the caption "Bring it to the RUNW4Y". The BBC released the list of celebrity guest judges the following day. Judge

revealed in an interview with ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''GAY TIMES Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ magazine established in 1984. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company began including content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...

'' that the competitors that appeared on the fourth series were "some of the best queens we've ever seen". Norton said because the series was a post-

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

season, the queens had a lot more freedom and that it was, "very hard for the eason threequeens in COVID because they weren't making any money and lots of the dressmakers had stopped working. I think it was really hard during COVID, so this is definitely a post-COVID season and it's great. You can look forward to it. You don't need to worry!" It was revealed that executives had recruited former '' The Jeremy Kyle Show'' bodyguard known as "Big Steve", to work on the show. On 1 September 2022, the BBC announced the series would premiere on 22 September, to coincide with the conclusion of the third season of '' Canada's Drag Race'' and the second season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under ''Drag Race Down Under'' (formerly ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'') is a reality competition television series based on the American television series of the same name produced by World of Wonder and Warner Bros. International Television Pr ...

''. In September 2022, the BBC reported that

Series 2 Series 2 could refer to: * Apple Watch Series 2, a smart watch by Apple * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2, the automobile model * Aston Martin V8 Series 2, the automobile model * BMW 2 Series, the automobile model line * GeForce 2 series, line of nVi ...

contestant, Cherry Valentine, had died at the age of 28. Subsequently, the second episode from Series 4 was dedicated to Cherry Valentine in their memory on 29 September 2022. RuPaul missed filming during Episode 7, therefore Visage took over as main judge and host, whilst

Raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

took Visage's spot on the judging panel. It subsequently made it the first episode RuPaul has missed from across all '' Drag Race franchises'' hosted by RuPaul himself. Coincidentally, it made Raven the first former ''Drag Race'' contestant to judge on a RuPaul fronted franchise.

Contestants

''Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.'' Notes:

Future ''Drag Race'' appearances

* In 2024 Jonbers Blonde competed on ''RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World'' series 2; later in 2024 Le Fil competed on ''Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World'' season 2.

Contestant progress

Lip syncs

Legend:

Guest judges

Listed in chronological order: * Dame Joanna Lumley, actress *

FKA Twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 16 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and dancer. She was a backup dancer for numerous musicians, and made her musica ...

, singer and actress * Leomie Anderson, model *

Alison Hammond Alison Hammond (born 5 February 1975) is a British television presenter and actress. She competed in the third series of the reality show '' Big Brother'' in 2002, in which she was the second housemate to be evicted. She has since become a pre ...

, television presenter *

, actress and singer *

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a member of the Pop mus ...

, singer *

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

, singer *

, drag queen and make-up artist * Lorraine Pascale, chef *

Olly Alexander Oliver Alexander Thornton (born 15 July 1990) is an English singer, actor and List of LGBTQ rights activists, LGBTQ activist who rose to prominence as the lead singer of the English pop band Years & Years, who achieved two No. 1 albums on the U ...

, singer and actor

Special guests

Guests who will appear in episodes, but not judge on the main stage. Episode 1 *Guy Levy, photographer Episode 2 *

Cathy Dennis Catherine Roseanne Dennis (born 25 March 1969)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa; , p. 133 is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. She was discovered as a teenager by music manager Simon F ...

, singer and songwriter * Leland, producer *Freddy Scott, producer and songwriter Episode 5 *Dane Chalfin, vocal coach *

Giovanni Pernice Giovanni Pernice (born 5 September 1990) is an Italian professional dancer based in the United Kingdom, best known for his appearances on the British television show ''Strictly Come Dancing''. He is also an Italian Open Latin Dance Champion (2012 ...

, dancer and choreographer Episode 6 * Baga Chipz, contestant on ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' Series 1 and ''UK vs. the World'' Series 1 *

Tess Daly Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly (born 29 March 1969) is an English television presenter and former model. Since 2004, she has co-presented the BBC One dancing competition show '' Strictly Come Dancing''. Early life Helen Elizabeth Daly was born o ...

, television presenter *

AJ Odudu Onatejiro "AJ" Odudu (born 12 February 1988) is a British television presenter. She co-presents the ITV2 reality shows '' Big Brother'' (since 2023) and ''Celebrity Big Brother'' (since 2024) alongside Will Best, and previously the spin-off sh ...

, television presenter Episode 9 *

Aisling Bea Aisling Clíodhnadh O'Sullivan (born 16 March 1984), known professionally as Aisling Bea ( ), is an Irish comedian, actress and screenwriter. She created, wrote and starred in the comedy series '' This Way Up'' on Channel 4. As a stand-up comedi ...

, comedian Episode 10 *Claudimar Neto, dancer and choreographer *

The Vivienne James Lee Williams (12 April 1992 – 5 January 2025), known professionally as The Vivienne, was a British drag queen from Colwyn Bay, Wales, and winner of the RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 1, first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' in 2019. T ...

, winner of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' Series 1 *

Lawrence Chaney Lawrence Chaney (born Lawrence Maidment; 16 October 1996) is a British Glasgow-based drag queen. They are best known for winning the RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 2), second series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'', becoming the first Scottish drag q ...

, winner of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' Series 2 * Krystal Versace, winner of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' Series 3

Episodes

References

{{RuPaul's Drag Race UK 2022 British television seasons 2022 LGBTQ-related television 4