Expert comment: BBC cancelling Drag Race UK sends bleak message to LGBTQIA+ people

The show is the latest in a string of cuts to LGBTQIA+ shows by the broadcaster. London Met academics Dr Helton Levy and Dr Sebastian Cordoba discuss its impact on the community.

Date: 16 September 2026

After eight series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK featuring in a primetime slot on the BBC, the broadcaster has cancelled the ground-breaking show over “significant financial pressures.” 

Its cancellation is the latest in a number of recent blows to queer media by the BBC, which also scrapped its popular LGBTQIA+ dating shows earlier this summer. 

London Met academics discuss the legacy of Drag Race UK, the BBC’s decision to drop the show, the wider decline of queer media and the impact this will have on LGBTQIA+ people across the country.  

Dr Helton Levy, Senior Lecturer in Media at the School of Computing and Digital Media, said he had mixed feelings about the BBC’s decision.  

“For a long time now, we’ve been seeing queer media or media for LGBTQIA+ people under attack. It’s happened with other sexually diverse shows being cancelled by the BBC, such as I Kissed a Boy, I Kissed a Girl and Gentleman Jack,” he said.  

“But this trend is everywhere and can be seen internationally with queer shows getting cancelled or interrupted in the US for no good reason. While there has been a thriving queer media industry over the years, I think it peaked a few years ago and there’s been a declining trend ever since.  

“While Drag Race UK has had such a positive impact on drag communities and beyond, the global franchise has overshadowed local productions. The BBC paid high royalties to Drag Race, and these resources could now be allocated to local productions instead to platform the thriving queer scene in the UK.” 

No queer TV shows, no queer audiences?

“But losing a show like Drag Race means we also lose the benchmark for queer media,” said Dr Levy. “Without queer shows on air, we cannot prove that there are audiences for these shows and this makes it harder for local productions to get funded. 

“The political environment also informs how decisions are made at a board level, and the rise of right-wing backlash is having an impact on queer media. The decision to cut queer shows could backfire at the BBC as queer people’s license fees will divert to other players in a very competitive streaming market.”  

Drag Race UK and the psychology of representation  

Dr Sebastian Cordoba is a social and LGBTQIA+ psychologist, whose research focuses on how LGBTQIA+ people experience their identities in the social world. He said the cancelling of Drag Race UK is a huge cause for concern.  

“As a psychologist, I’m worried about how this decision will affect individuals as queer people won’t be able to see themselves in the media." 

“Representation is so important at a psychological level, especially for queer youth. It helps with self-esteem, self-identity and just developing as a person. For many years, queer people like me didn’t see ourselves on TV in a positive light – we were so starved of it. 

After years of increasing positive representation in the media, the cancellation of these shows feels like a step backwards. It sends a harmful message to queer people, especially in a political climate marked by growing anti-trans rhetoric and legislation. It reinforces the feeling that queer identities and experiences are not valued in mainstream society." 

The importance of queer joy

Dr Cordoba spoke about the importance of queer joy, which was often depicted in shows like Drag Race UK.  

“I think for many years, we saw a lot of representation in the media that was depicting queer lives in such a negative light, because there are lots of negative histories in our community such as Section 28, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and discrimination. "  

“But I think these shows were very much about highlighting queer joy and celebration. So, it’s quite sad to see them go." 

“But perhaps, to end on a more positive light, this could turn into queer rage and queer anger. We’re being emboldened by these kinds of changes. 

“We can create our own representations outside of mainstream media which is what queer people have been doing for many decades — finding ways of representing ourselves in smaller communities of practice and in a more niche way.” 

The future series of Drag Race UK and its spin-off vs The World, will be broadcast on Wow Presents Plus which is a streaming platform owned by the show’s production company.