It’s nearly time to get your skates on: Dancing on Ice will be back on our screens for its 15th season this weekend.
11 celebrities have been paired up with 11 professional skaters, and the pairs have been rehearsing hard, ready to take to the rink and (hopefully) show off their skills.
Among them will be RuPaul’s Drag Race UK champion The Vivienne, who is making history as the first drag queen to take part in the ITV show.
She’s already proven that she has bags of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent during her stint on Drag Race, but can she and skating partner Colin Grafton impress on the ice?
Here’s everything you need to know about The Vivienne.
Who is The Vivienne?
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Age: 30
Job: Drag queen
Instagram: @thevivienne_
Twitter: @THEVIVIENNE
Paired with: Colin Grafton
The Vivienne grew up in North Wales and began her drag career in the clubs of Liverpool, choosing her drag name because of her love of Vivienne Westwood clothes.
She was announced as the UK ambassador for RuPaul’s Drag Race back in 2015, several years before the competition made its way across the Atlantic. Then, when the show eventually launched on BBC Three in 2019, she was named as part of the line-up.
She was a runaway success in the Snatch Game with her uncanny (and hilarious) impersonation of then-president Donald Trump, and went on to be crowned the very first winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, beating Divina de Campo and Baga Chipz.
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Alongside Baga, she went on to present Morning T&T on WOW Presents Plus, the streaming service for Drag Race broadcasters World of Wonder. The show saw the pair reprise their Snatch Game impressions of Trump and Margaret Thatcher.
In 2022, she joined the line-up for the seventh edition of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, which saw former winners return in an attempt to earn the title of Queen of All Queens.
The Vivienne has also made cameo appearances in shows including Emmerdale and medical drama This Is Going To Hurt (where she played a drag queen working on the door of a nightclub) and also cropped up in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie back in 2016.
What has The Vivienne said about joining Dancing on Ice 2023?
If anyone ever wondered what it looks like to be training 5 days a week, and doing drag con then straight back to training with 6 days to go until the live shows……it looks like this 👇 @ColinGrafton @dancingonice #dancingonice pic.twitter.com/DPJFDZW78A
— TheVivienne (@THEVIVIENNEUK) January 9, 2023
When she was announced as part of the line-up last year, The Vivienne said that taking part in the competition was “honestly a dream come true”.
“To be the first drag artist to take part in one of the big UK reality competition shows is truly an honour. I think it’s a big step forward for queer representation on TV.”
Since then, The Vivienne and skating partner Colin have shared plenty of snaps and videos on social media, showing them rehearsing on the ice – and it seems that the star is pretty proud of their progress so far.
“Months of hard work and commitment have all come down to this!” she wrote on social media ahead of her debut. “One of my proudest achievements and can’t wait for you to see what Colin Grafton and I have been working on for you!”
Dancing on Ice 2023 starts on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 15th January 2023. To find out what’s on telly tonight, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide, or visit our dedicated Entertainment hub.
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