RuPaul's Drag Race UK

RuPaul's Drag Race UK is a British reality competition television series based on the American television series of the same name. The television series, a collaboration between the BBC, World of Wonder and Gallowgate Productions, premiered on 3 October 2019. The show is the fourth installment of the Drag Race franchise, and the second fronted by RuPaul. The show documents RuPaul and a panel of judges' search for "the United Kingdom's next drag superstar", the first series title dubbed "UK's First Drag Superstar". RuPaul plays several roles on the show including host, mentor and head judge for the series, as the contestants are given different challenges to participate in each week. The show also employs a panel of judges: RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Alan Carr, and Graham Norton. The show was renewed for a second series in 2019; however, production was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production of the second series resumed later in the year, with filming concluding in late 2020. The cast of 12 new queens was announced on 16 December 2020 and the series premiered on 14 January 2021. The show was renewed for a third (2021), fourth (2022) and fifth (2023) series. After the first series aired, the show received numerous award nominations from the twenty-fifth National Television Awards including: "The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award" and "Best TV Judge" with both Visage and RuPaul receiving a nomination. The show was critically acclaimed in the UK, with 15.6 million streams during the first season. The show's success is credited for being the driving force behind the BBC bringing back the defunct television channel BBC Three. Spin-off show RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World relaunched the television channel in February 2022. The return proved successful, with the show securing five times more viewers than any other show broadcasting during the channel's first day. The show is now recognised as one of the BBC's most popular non-scripted shows. The show's success has also paved way for contestants to break into the music industry, as well as creating drag pop groups: Frock Destroyers and United Kingdolls, with both groups charting on the Official UK Charts. Bimini Bon-Boulash who was a member of the latter group, was the first drag queen from any Drag Race franchise to sign a major mainstream record deal, signing a joint deal with Relentless Records and Sony Music in July 2022.