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Drag Race UK isn’t just about the entertainment – it’s a glimpse into the lives behind the showstopping make-up and outfits too. When The Vivienne opened up about overcoming drug addiction during season one in 2019, it opened up a conversation about an issue often hidden.
“I didn’t really expect to talk about it, but when you’re on a reality TV show you do open up a lot more, because it’s just a pressure cooker of emotions and personalities,” she says now, as we talk over the phone.
She’s glad she did though, as it’s enabled her to show others you can beat these things. It took hitting “rock bottom” and being warned she’d be “dead by 30” if she didn’t stop, for The Vivienne to start turning things around – but she did. She got clean, found love with David Ludford (they’re now married), and of course became the UK’s first Drag Race winner.