“RuPaul’s Drag Race UK” winner Danny Beard on show success and what’s next

When Danny Beard’s name was called as the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season four, the queen was so shocked because they thought their competitor, Cheddar Gorgeous, was certain to earn the title, they told Newsweek.

Beard, who uses they/them pronouns, was crowned the UK’s Next Drag Race Superstar on November 24, and they join The Vivienne, Lawrence Chaney and Krystal Versace in the winner’s circle.

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’ Winner Danny Beard on Show Success

Danny beat Cheddar, Black Peppa and Jonbers Blonde to the top spot following an epic final challenge that saw the quartet write their own lyrics to iconic songs by RuPaul and perform them onstage.

It was only during the screening of the final that Danny learned they had won the competition, as the winner is revealed live on air.

“That moment was crazy,” Danny said. “I mean, you can see it […] they filmed us, we got private screening in a cinema, and, honestly, I’d kind of just prepared for Cheddar to be the winner because she’s amazing. She was just very cool, calm and collected, a lot more experienced than me.

“I was just happy to be in the final, I never thought I’d see that footage of me with that crown and sceptre, let alone be holding the crown and sceptre. So it was crazy.”

Danny and Cheddar were very much neck-and-neck in the competition, with both queens earning four RuPeter badges each over the course of the season. However, even then, Danny did not see it as a rivalry.

They said: “It was 100 percent the season of the sisters, wasn’t it? We were. It was RuPaul’s ‘best friend race’ times 10. Honestly what you saw on camera was the same. We’re even more close off camera.

“I think the rivalry between me and Cheddar, I don’t even really like to use the word ‘rivalry’ because it was more like it pushed us to do better,” said Danny.

“If it was a rivalry. it was a friendly one, because seeing someone so iconic… Cheddar has been doing drag a lot longer than me, and she has been on the scene for years, and what she brings is an education and a completely different side to what I bring to drag.

“So that pushed me in other areas that I never thought I would push myself in, so, like I say if it was a rivalry, it certainly was a friendly one at least,” Danny added.

What’s Next for Danny Beard?

Now that the competition is over, Danny is looking ahead. They explained how their schedule is already packed with a Christmas tour and other shows, but they have one goal in mind.

“I’d love to break into television properly,” Danny said. “My dream was always to be a television presenter.

“There’s lots of exciting jobs in the pipeline in television, lots to tour as you can imagine. Being on stage has been my whole career for literally 10 years now. So I’ve had 10 years training for this moment, if you will.

“So it’s just a lot more of what I’ve been doing and on a bigger scale,” Danny added, “and everyone’s just been so lovely. In the street, people are stopping me and honestly it’s one of those shows that everyone that watches it just falls in love with all of us, all the amazing sisters that I’ve got on the season.

“The whole experience has been amazing to me. It makes all that a bit nicer and easier when everyone’s so lovely, you know?” Danny added.

When asked if they’d want to be like British TV presenter Davina McCall, who is best known for presenting Big Brother and whom Danny parodied on the show, they said: “Absolutely, Big Brother‘s getting a revival here in UK, so if they need anyone for the show or the spin-off…”

Danny also shared a message for viewers of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, saying that they hope their win will show others that “if you stay true to who you are, then you really can achieve anything in life.”

As the first bearded drag queen to appear on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Danny said their experience was “what dreams are made of.” They hope that their win will “open some doors for other people, and we get to see more queer-diverse talent across the franchises.”

Reflecting on how other bearded drag queens have featured on TV shows not fronted by RuPaul, Danny added: “Hopefully that means times are changing and hopefully that means more queer people will be seen on the show.

“If you start to acknowledge different forms of drag, then hopefully it’s only a matter of time before we see kings on the show and more nonbinary and trans performers.”

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season four is available to watch in the U.S. and in select territories exclusively on WOW Presents Plus.