Here’s all the details on the documentary dedicated to Drag Race’s late queen The Vivienne
It's coming out in just a few weeks
A new BBC documentary is coming out to pay tribute to The Vivienne, months on since her sudden death. She lives on in all of our hearts, and with the support of her family and friends, we’ll get to rewatch all of her milestones across her time on Drag Race.
It’s called Dear Viv, and will be premiering on August 28th, offering a celebratory look at the Drag Race UK winner’s remarkable life story and legacy. If you’re outside the UK, you can watch it on WOW, and on BBC Three if you’re based in the country.
The documentary first went into production in March 2025, two months after The Vivienne died at the age of 32 in January. Dear Viv is being made by World of Wonder, the production company behind the internationally popular Drag Race franchise.
“We want to celebrate The Vivienne’s extraordinary life and work so everyone can experience her incredible talent, sass and enormous heart,” said World of Wonder co-founders and executive producers Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey.
The documentary will feature archive footage, letters from fans, and interviews with many of The Vivienne’s loved ones, including fellow UK Drag Race star Baga Chipz, Michael Marouli and Danny Beard – the stage name of Daniel Curtis – will also appear in the documentary.
The producers said they hoped to “sensitively trace James’s journey from humble beginnings in North Wales to their meteoric rise on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK”. She won the show’s first series in 2019 and went on to finish third in the 2023 edition of ITV’s Dancing On Ice.
Lee Williams, who was his father, made a statement at the hearing, stating: “He was just an outgoing character who was full of life, he just wanted to make people laugh. He achieved his goals. He had future goals he wanted to achieve. He was always available.”
He added: “He never turned anybody down. He never turned his back on anybody. He never said no. He loved the stage, that’s where he saw the rest of his career being, on the stage, in the theatre. That’s what he loved to do.”
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