{"id":1446105,"date":"2025-08-07T15:49:27","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T14:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/?p=1446105"},"modified":"2025-08-07T15:49:27","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T14:49:27","slug":"drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vivienne: BBC to air tribute documentary honouring Drag Race UK icon"},"content":{"rendered":"

The BBC is set to air a documentary spotlighting the life and legacy of the late Drag Race UK<\/em><\/a> winner The Vivienne<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Produced by World of Wonder, the production company behind the Drag Race<\/em> franchise, Dear Viv<\/em> will premiere on 28 August on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer, and will also be available internationally via WOW Presents Plus.<\/p>\n

The Vivienne \u2013 born James Lee Williams \u2013 tragically passed away in January 2025 following a cardiac arrest<\/a>, which was reported to be caused by the effects of ketamine.<\/p>\n

The hour-long film will explore The Vivienne\u2019s trailblazing legacy within the Drag Race<\/em> universe, including her historic win as the inaugural Drag Race UK<\/em> champion and her return as the first international queen to compete on a U.S. season: All Stars 7<\/em><\/a>, the franchise\u2019s first-ever all-winners edition.<\/p>\n

The documentary is also expected to celebrate her wider contributions to entertainment, from making history as the first drag performer to compete on Dancing on Ice<\/em><\/a> to her West End debut as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.<\/em><\/p>\n

Directed by Pete Williams, a producer on WOW\u2019s long-running UNHhhh<\/em> series, Dear Viv<\/em> will include interviews with the star\u2019s loved ones, including the following Drag Race<\/em> stars: Baga Chipz, Blu Hydrangea, Cheryl Hole, Crystal, Danny Beard, Michael Marouli, Mon\u00e9t X Change, Raja, Tia Kofi and Trinity the Tuck.<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter<\/em><\/a>, World of Wonder co-founder Fenton Bailey<\/a> explained the importance of having the aforementioned queens involved as \u201crelationships that form on the show are real and continue in real life\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe queens who were with Viv on Drag Race<\/em>, you are in a fishbowl together for a protracted period of time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it\u2019s a competition, [but] the camaraderie and the bonding that happens in the workroom is really extraordinary. \u2026 It just seem[ed like] who better than to talk about The Viv than other queens from Drag Race<\/em>? It\u2019s a real community, a very strong community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

BBC<\/p><\/div>\n

Additionally, the documentary will feature archival clips from The Vivienne\u2019s appearances on Drag Race UK<\/em> season one and All Stars 7<\/em>. It will also address the circumstances surrounding her death, particularly in light of her sister Chanel Williams becoming an outspoken advocate against ketamine use in the months since.<\/p>\n

Bailey said: \u201cI think it\u2019s really important not to shy away from that, not only because there wasn\u2019t anyone more full of life than The Viv, \u2026 but I think it\u2019s important for people to know that the dangers of drugs. There\u2019s no judgment here at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think there is no harm in telling the truth, and I also believe Viv would really want that. Viv would not want us to hide anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bailey added that he hopes the documentary will leave fans feeling \u201cinspired\u201d: \u201cWhen I think of The Viv, I just think of this sort of bright light, and I get this warm feeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think that\u2019s what I would love anyone who watches this film to feel touched by and feel that as they go about their life, whatever they\u2019re doing, drag queen or not, that they have a little bit of a lift, or a tiger in the tank, because that was Viv.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd as sad as it is that The Viv was taken from us so young, oh my God, how much she gave people. It\u2019s just unbelievable. Personally, I hope that wherever she is, The Viv gets to see this film [in] some way, shape or form. And I hope that she would love it as much as we loved her, as much as we do love her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here to see tributes to The Vivienne and fans celebrating her most iconic pop culture moments.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The BBC is set to air a documentary spotlighting the life and legacy of the late Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne. Produced by World of Wonder, the production company\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1168,"featured_media":1446107,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[205,557,665],"tags":[1642,636,2129,744,2288,5329],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Vivienne: BBC to air tribute documentary honouring Drag Race UK icon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The BBC is set to air a documentary spotlighting the life and legacy of the late Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Vivienne: BBC to air tribute documentary honouring Drag Race UK icon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The BBC is set to air a documentary spotlighting the life and legacy of the late Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GAY TIMES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gaytimes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-07T14:49:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/drag-race-the-vivienne.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"695\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"436\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sam Damshenas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@samdamshenas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gaytimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sam Damshenas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sam Damshenas\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/person\/26c9cf714baced5dc8d01904295f787c\"},\"headline\":\"The Vivienne: BBC to air tribute documentary honouring Drag Race UK icon\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-07T14:49:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-07T14:49:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/\"},\"wordCount\":651,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"BBC\",\"Drag Race\",\"Drag Race UK\",\"The Vivienne\",\"World Of Wonder\",\"WOW Presents Plus\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Culture\",\"Drag\",\"Television\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/\",\"name\":\"The Vivienne: BBC to air tribute documentary honouring Drag Race UK icon\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-07T14:49:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-07T14:49:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"The BBC is set to air a documentary spotlighting the life and legacy of the late Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Vivienne: BBC to air tribute documentary honouring Drag Race UK icon\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/\",\"name\":\"GAY TIMES\",\"description\":\"Amplifying queer voices.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"GAY TIMES\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cd-gaytimes.j.layershift.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GT_ICON_ILLUSTRATOR_BLACK_RGB-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cd-gaytimes.j.layershift.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GT_ICON_ILLUSTRATOR_BLACK_RGB-1.png\",\"width\":11710,\"height\":11710,\"caption\":\"GAY TIMES\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gaytimes\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gaytimes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gaytimes\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/gaytimes\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.co.uk\/gaytimesmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/GayTimesChannel\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gay_Times\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/person\/26c9cf714baced5dc8d01904295f787c\",\"name\":\"Sam Damshenas\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7743490aea9fb232439a8166d15b1a39?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7743490aea9fb232439a8166d15b1a39?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sam Damshenas\"},\"description\":\"sam@gaytimes.co.uk\",\"sameAs\":[\"samdamshenas\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/samdamshenas\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/author\/sam-damshenas\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Vivienne: BBC to air tribute documentary honouring Drag Race UK icon","description":"The BBC is set to air a documentary spotlighting the life and legacy of the late Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Vivienne: BBC to air tribute documentary honouring Drag Race UK icon","og_description":"The BBC is set to air a documentary spotlighting the life and legacy of the late Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/","og_site_name":"GAY TIMES","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gaytimes","article_published_time":"2025-08-07T14:49:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":695,"height":436,"url":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/drag-race-the-vivienne.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sam Damshenas","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@samdamshenas","twitter_site":"@gaytimes","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sam Damshenas","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/"},"author":{"name":"Sam Damshenas","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/person\/26c9cf714baced5dc8d01904295f787c"},"headline":"The Vivienne: BBC to air tribute documentary honouring Drag Race UK icon","datePublished":"2025-08-07T14:49:27+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-07T14:49:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/"},"wordCount":651,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["BBC","Drag Race","Drag Race UK","The Vivienne","World Of Wonder","WOW Presents Plus"],"articleSection":["Culture","Drag","Television"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/","name":"The Vivienne: BBC to air tribute documentary honouring Drag Race UK icon","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-08-07T14:49:27+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-07T14:49:27+00:00","description":"The BBC is set to air a documentary spotlighting the life and legacy of the late Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/drag\/drag-race-uk-the-vivienne-documentary-dear-viv\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Vivienne: BBC to air tribute documentary honouring Drag Race UK icon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/","name":"GAY TIMES","description":"Amplifying queer voices.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#organization","name":"GAY TIMES","url":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cd-gaytimes.j.layershift.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GT_ICON_ILLUSTRATOR_BLACK_RGB-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cd-gaytimes.j.layershift.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GT_ICON_ILLUSTRATOR_BLACK_RGB-1.png","width":11710,"height":11710,"caption":"GAY TIMES"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gaytimes","https:\/\/twitter.com\/gaytimes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gaytimes\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/gaytimes","https:\/\/www.pinterest.co.uk\/gaytimesmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/GayTimesChannel","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gay_Times"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/person\/26c9cf714baced5dc8d01904295f787c","name":"Sam Damshenas","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7743490aea9fb232439a8166d15b1a39?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7743490aea9fb232439a8166d15b1a39?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sam Damshenas"},"description":"sam@gaytimes.co.uk","sameAs":["samdamshenas","https:\/\/twitter.com\/samdamshenas"],"url":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/author\/sam-damshenas\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1446105"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1446105"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1446105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1446113,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1446105\/revisions\/1446113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1446107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1446105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1446105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1446105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}