RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 4


The fourth series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK began airing on BBC Three on 22 September 2022. RuPaul returned to his role as main host and head judge, and was again joined on the judging panel by Michelle Visage, Alan Carr and Graham Norton, all of whom returned for their respective fourth series. The series was filmed in Pinewood Studios 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 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 page, that casting for the fourth series was now open. Applications remained open for two weeks until closing on 10 November 2021. Hannah Waddingham revealed herself to be first celebrity guest judge during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, hosted by RuPaul. The fourth series was the first regular series of the show to be broadcast on BBC Three 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 Graham Norton revealed in an interview with Gay Times 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 season, the queens had a lot more freedom and that it was, "very hard for the queens 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.
In September 2022, the BBC reported that Series 2 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 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.
ContestantAgeHometownOutcome
Danny Beard29Liverpool, England
Cheddar Gorgeous38Manchester, England
Black Peppa29Birmingham, England3rd place
Jonbers Blonde33Belfast, Northern Ireland3rd place
Pixie Polite29Brighton, England5th place
Dakota Schiffer22Horsham, England6th place
36Brighouse, England7th place
Baby25South London, England8th place
Sminty Drop23Clitheroe, England9th place
Copper Topp38Cheltenham, England10th place
Starlet23Reigate, England11th place
Just May32Essex, England12th place

Notes:

Contestant progress

Lip syncs

Legend:

Guest judges

Listed in chronological order:
  • Dame Joanna Lumley, actress
  • FKA Twigs, singer and actress
  • Leomie Anderson, model
  • Alison Hammond, television presenter
  • Hannah Waddingham, actress and singer
  • Mel B, singer
  • Boy George, singer
  • Raven, drag queen and make-up artist
  • Lorraine Pascale, chef
  • Olly Alexander, singer and actor

    Special guests

Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 1
  • Guy Levy, photographer
Episode 2
  • Cathy Dennis, singer-songwriter
  • Leland, producer
  • Freddy Scott, producer and songwriter
Episode 5
  • Dane Chalfin, vocal coach
  • Giovanni Pernice, professional ballroom dancer and choreographer
Episode 6
  • Baga Chipz, contestant from RuPaul's Drag Race UK Series 1 and UK vs. the World Series 1
  • Tess Daly, television presenter
  • AJ Odudu, television presenter
Episode 9
  • Aisling Bea, comedian
Episode 10
  • Claudimar Neto, dancer and choreographer
  • The Vivienne, winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK Series 1
  • Lawrence Chaney, winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK Series 2
  • Krystal Versace, winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK Series 3

    Episodes