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 [season three] 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.
+Contestants of RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 4 and their backgrounds Contestant Age Hometown Outcome Danny Beard 29 Liverpool, England Cheddar Gorgeous 38 Manchester, England Black Peppa 29 Birmingham, England 3rd place Jonbers Blonde 33 Belfast, Northern Ireland Pixie Polite 29 Brighton, England 5th place Dakota Schiffer 22 Horsham, England 6th place 36 Brighouse, England 7th place Baby 25 South London, England 8th place Sminty Drop 23 Clitheroe, England 9th place Copper Topp 38 Cheltenham, England 10th place Starlet 23 Reigate, England 11th place Just May 32 Essex, England 12th place
Notes:
Contestant progress
Lip syncs Legend:
Episode Bottom contestants Song Eliminated 1 Dakota Schiffer vs. Just May "Let Them Know"(Mabel) Just May 2 Jonbers Blonde vs. Starlet "About You Now"(Sugababes) Starlet 3 Black Peppa vs. Copper Topp "This Is Real"(Jax Jones ft. Ella Henderson) Copper Topp 4 Baby vs. Sminty Drop "Respectable"(Mel and Kim) Sminty Drop 5 Baby vs. Dakota Schiffer "No Way"(The Cast of Six ft. Renée Lamb) 6 Black Peppa vs. Le Fil "Stop"(Spice Girls) Le Fil 7 Dakota Schiffer vs. Pixie Polite "Miss Me Blind"(Culture Club) Dakota Schiffer 8 Black Peppa vs. Jonbers Blonde "Some Kinda Rush"(Booty Luv) None 9 Black Peppa vs. Pixie Polite "Another One Bites the Dust"(Queen) Pixie Polite Episode Final contestants Song Winner 10 Cheddar Gorgeous vs. Danny Beard "This Is My Life"(Shirley Bassey) Danny Beard
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
References