Dancing On Ice ’s first drag queen contestant fears her skating may fall flat – because the professionals will struggle to lift her.
RuPaul’s Drag Race star The Vivienne, who is often 6ft 6in in costume, said: “A drag queen has never performed before so we’re not quite sure how it will work yet.
“Drag is very restrictive. It is going to make skating much harder.
“I think we are going to struggle on the lifts because I am not sure if I’ll be lifting them or they will be lifting me.
“I can’t wear a body corset, which I normally do but still, all the padding and boobs could get in the way.
“But on the plus side, the wigs are so big, it’ll be like I am wearing a crash helmet.”
The Vivienne, 30, whose real name is James Lee Williams, has no idea who her skating partner will be yet.
But she has been inspired by this year’s contestants, ex-Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt and Mark Hanretty who did perfect lifts on their way to coming third.
Giggling, the only thing The Vivienne says she must insist on in a partner is “a strong back, arms and ankles”. The drag star shot to fame in 2019 after winning the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.
She has since gone on to front a number of TV shows in America and also appeared on the BBC ’s The Great British Sewing Bee Christmas Special.
Apart from the challenges she will face on the ice, The Vivienne will also be under pressure to get into her costume.
“It takes me four hours to get ready in full drag,” she said. “So when there is an early call time, it is even earlier for me because it takes so bloody long to get ready.
“I’ve been practising both in and out of drag. I think I’ll practise most of the time in comfy trackies but I will also have to train in full drag so I get used to it.”
Most fans are excited to see The Vivienne make her Dancing on Ice debut. But she has also been bombarded with homophobic insults.
She said: “When I was revealed as one of the celebrities, some people commented they would no longer watch the show. They complained that ITV was pushing the gay agenda on family TV.
“I am literally a man ice skating in a dress. That’s it. No one seems to mind Mrs Brown’s Boys or Mrs Doubtfire so you start thinking, ‘Is it because it’s a gay man in a dress that it is a problem?’
“That’s when you realise it is so important for representation to be seen. There’s still work to do and we’re still a long way off being accepted for who we are.”
Other stars taking part in the show, which starts in January, are Love Island ’s Ekin-Su Culculoglu, 28, Corrie’s Mollie Gallagher, 24, ex-Gladiators host John Fashanu, 60, and singer Michelle Heaton, 43.
