A RuPaul's Drag Race star took his own life after "struggling" to cope with fame, an inquest heard.
George Ward was initially introduced to the drag scene in Manchester while studying mental health nursing at university and eventually went on to appear on the second season of the cult BBC Three show RuPaul's Drag Race UK - as his alter-ago Cherry Valentine. However the 'extravagant' 28-year-old was found dead in his flat last September, while his flatmate was at a concert, LancsLive reports.
The inquest heard that Mr Ward - who used he/they pronouns when not in drag and was genderfluid - had been "disowned" by their family at 18 after coming out as gay. After studying mental health nursing at the University of Cumbria, he moved to London with a female friend from home, and was announced as a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race UK in December 2020.
