EXCLUSIVE: Creatives behind upcoming BBC comedy Smoggie Queens have credited RuPaul’s Drag Race UK with clearing the path for more shows about queer communities across the nation.
Phil Dunning, who created and stars in the Hat Trick-produced show alongside the likes of Peaky Blinders star Charlotte Riley and Mark Benton, said a decade ago the series about drag queens in the north east of England may have struggled to get a greenlight.
Now into its sixth season, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK launched in 2019 and has consistently been one of BBC Three’s top-rated shows, catapulting the careers of the likes of The Vivienne and Baga Chipz and carving out space in the national conversation about drag.
The majority of its contestants come from outside of London. “Drag Race has done amazing things for the queer community,” Dunning told Deadline. “It’s shone such a spotlight on drag and made us think that these people are interesting and fun.
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