Drag Race UK judge Alan Carr confirms when season two will resume after coronavirus forced the werk room to shut down
Graham Norton, Michelle Visage and Alan Carr attend the RuPaul’s Drag Race UK premiere at on September 17, 2019 in London, England. (Dave J Hogan/Getty)
Drag Race UK judge Alan Carr has revealed that the show is set to resume filming shortly, after being disrupted by coronavirus.
The second season of Drag Race UK was initially tipped to air this year, but the show’s return was pushed back indefinitely due to the pandemic disrupting the filming schedule.
Some episodes are thought to have already been shot when production was shut down due to the pandemic in March, leaving the rest of the season up in the air .
Travel restrictions between the UK and the US have presented another hurdle for the involvement of RuPaul and Michelle Visage – though the latter has shared a number of Instagram updates from London in recent days.
However, regular judge Alan Carr has revealed that the show is set to finally return to filming in the next few weeks.
He told Lorraine on Tuesday (October 20): “I’m filming that in a fortnight’s time, so that will be nice to just get that finished.”
Carr quipped: “It’s also good for some of the drag queens who maybe their sewing wasn’t that good, because in the lockdown, if they’ve got any sense, they’d be on that sewing machine, with that pedal down! No excuse, love.”
BBC Three controller Fiona Campbell previously said of the second season at the Edinburgh TV Festival: “Midway through filming it was interrupted. It’s currently being regrouped.
“I think the best thing I can say is hopefully if we all stay well and stable in the UK like we are now, we’ll get it done by the end of the year. But yeah, it’s regrouping as we speak.”
Alan Carr on Drag Race UK (BBC)
The last official news on the series was a statement in March on a “temporary pause” for production.
It said: “In light of the spread of COVID-19, after much consideration, production on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK will be temporarily pausing filming both in consultation with and supported by the BBC.
“We will continue to review all productions on a case by case basis and will continue to follow the latest news and advice from the Foreign Office, World Health Organisation and Public Health England.”
God Shave the Queens will give viewers a much-needed drag fix.
While there’s no news yet on when the second season might make it to air, those awaiting a Drag Race UK fix may be appeased by God Shave The Queens, an eight-part documentary series following the cast of the first season embarking on their national tour, which is set to debut on iPlayer in “early November”.
God Shave The Queens is coming to @BBCiplayer soon.
This isn't like when your mum says "soon" and she means never, I actually mean soon. pic.twitter.com/IXoBwEDMLA
— RuPaul's Drag Race UK (@dragraceukbbc) October 13, 2020
In a release, Fiona Campbell said: “This series is a peek under the wigs to see what happens after the Drag Race curtain comes down. Our British queens have gone down in RuPaul ‘herstory’ and this series is a reminder of why we loved them so much in series one and shows us what it takes to be at the top of the game.”
RuPaul added: “I’m so delighted to send my first court of British queens out to the four corners of the realm — spreading their message of light, love and laughter, and sharing their sweet sensitive souls with the people.”
Drag Race franchise executive producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato recently hinted that future iterations within the reality empire could feature more trans performers and – for the first time – drag kings.
While RuPaul has previously criticised suggestions that the contest should reflect the full diversity of drag, the World of Wonder co-founders signalled their support for broadening the show’s horizons.
The pair said: “Our constant mantra is charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent, and that does not exclude anyone.”
