BBC confirms Drag Race UK was cancelled as a result of ‘significant financial pressures’

A spokesperson for the BBC has confirmed that Drag race UK has been cancelled and will be leaving the broadcaster after eight series. 

The spokesperson explained that the broadcaster is facing “very difficult choices” in the face of “significant financial pressures”.

Whilst the show is currently broadcast on BBC Three and iPlayer, the future series as well as any spin-off’s will now be broadcast on Wow Presents Plus. 

The spokesperson said the BBC was “proud of this groundbreaking show” and thanked “RuPaul, World of Wonder and everyone involved, both on and off screen”.

The BBC are currently rolling out plans to make £500m of savings, with director-general Matt Brittin previously telling staff “the scale of savings requires tough choices”.

A BBC spokesperson said: “As the BBC continues to navigate significant financial pressures and deliver the savings required of us, we have had to make some very difficult choices, none of which have been taken lightly.”

But fear not, as World of Wonder, the production company behind Drag Race UK, have confirmed that a new series, Drag Race UK All Stars, will premiere on Wow Presents Plus in Autumn 2027. 

BBC News confirmed that the current series of Drag Race UK will continue to air on BBC Three and iPlayer, and all existing series will continue to be available once the move is complete.

Tia Kofi, the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World series 2 in 2024, stated that as a result of the show being cancelled that a “marginalised” audience now has nowhere to go.

They shared: “I think the mistake is that they seem to be dropping programmes that they consider to be for more niche audiences, which I just don’t think makes a lot of logical sense because the niche audiences are the ones who are very much staying on and watching these things.

“But particularly when it comes to programs like Drag Race UK or the cancellation of I Kissed a Boy and I Kissed a Girl, or the Rap Game UK on the BBC as well, the more marginalised audiences have limited representation in mainstream media. They offer people a platform when they wouldn’t have that. There aren’t really those alternatives for drag performers in the UK.”

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