BBC Drops Drag Race UK After Eight Series — SkimNews
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- BBC confirmed RuPaul's Drag Race UK is leaving after eight series, with a spokesperson citing "very difficult choices" amid "significant financial pressures"
- Wow Presents Plus — the streaming platform owned by production company World of Wonder — will host future series and the vs The World spin-off, announcing a "new era" on Instagram
- Drag Race UK averaged around 1.5 million viewers per episode at its peak and launched in 2019, making household names of performers including Danny Beard, La Voix and Tia Kofi
- The BBC is rolling out a £500m savings plan, with director-general Matt Brittin previously telling staff that "the scale of savings requires tough choices"
- Drag Race UK All Stars, featuring returning fan favourites, will premiere in Autumn 2027 exclusively on Wow Presents Plus, while the current series (launched September 2026) continues airing on BBC Three and iPlayer
- Earlier this year the BBC also dropped LGBTQ+ dating shows I Kissed a Boy and I Kissed a Girl, with series-two contestant Jordan Burrow calling those cuts reflective of "where we're at within the queer community"
Why it matters: Drag Race UK is the second marquee LGBTQ+ show the BBC has shed in a single year — following I Kissed a Boy and I Kissed a Girl — and its relocation to the producer-owned Wow Presents Plus means UK fans will need a paid subscription from 2027 onward. The £500m savings mandate cited by the BBC is now visibly reshaping its entertainment portfolio, not just commissioning decisions.
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