The Vivienne’s historic Dancing On Ice debut has got LGBTQ+ fans all kinds of emotional
The Vivienne’s Dancing on Ice debut has LGBTQ+ fans emotional at representation
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne performed her first skating routine on Dancing on Ice over the weekend, and LGBTQ+ fans are praising the queer representation.
Skating to “Strong Enough” by Cher, the Scouse drag legend, who won the inaugural series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, made a spectacular entrance from the ceiling on a giant ‘VIV’ sign dressed in a sparkly black outfit in homage to the iconic singer.
The Vivienne, who is the first drag queen to appear on the hit ITV show, twirled around the rink while lip-syncing to the pop diva and performed a dramatic lift, leaving both fans and the judging panel in awe.
Judge and former Olympic skater Christopher Dean said: “A star was born on the ice tonight,” adding: “We’ve had a few divas, but you’re our best skating by far.”
Gay Twitter was suitably impressed by The Vivienne’s performance, too.
“The scream I let out when @THEVIVIENNEUK lowered from the ceiling… HIGH CAMP. OBSESSED,” one fan wrote.
“@THEVIVIENNEUK just catching up with last night’s #doi omg babes you were incredible!!! You looked stunning! You skated like a pro!! #vivforthewin,” another added.
A third tweeted: “Totally obsessed with @THEVIVIENNEUK on @dancingonice, it’ll be on repeat until next week hun. Well done. Incredible. And the representation.”
Thanking fans for all the love and votes (needed to keep competing couples safe from the ‘skate-off’ in the public voting system used on Dancing On Ice), The Vivienne wrote:
“I can’t thank you all enough for voting for me. You have NO idea how much it means to me.”
The Vivienne and her professional partner, Colin Grafton, skated in the second batch of the eleven pairings competing for the win. They placed second on the leaderboard with an impressive score of 28.5.
Grafton previously said that he was excited to make “skating history” with The Vivienne.
The drag icon was announced as a competitor for the series in October 2022 and said her involvement was “a dream come true” when she confirmed the news.
“To be the first drag artist to take part in one of the big UK reality competition shows is truly an honour,” she wrote on Twitter. “I think it’s a big step forward for queer representation on TV”.
The Vivienne is competing against ex-Olympic gymnast Nile Wilson and Love Island winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu.
Dancing on Ice has helped make progress for LGBTQ+ representation on primetime TV in recent years, pairing Steps star Ian ‘H’ Watkins with pro skater Matt Evers in 2020 to create the show’s first-ever same-sex skating couple.
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