DANCING On Ice star The Vivienne reveals the heartbreaking reason behind her next performance.
The inaugural winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is preparing to take to the ice in the semi-final of the long-running ITV skating competition.
The Vivienne, whose real name is James Lee Williams, will be skating to Over The Rainbow from the hit musical film, The Wizard Of Oz.
The 30-year-old drag artist revealed that he chose this song in particular because of the way he related to it as a child.
He revealed: “For my personal song, I’m going to be skating to Over the Rainbow.
“As a young boy I really fell in love with The Wizard of Oz because it just made me feel like anything was possible.
“I knew I was different but I didn’t know what it was but seeing Dorothy who knew there was a bigger world out there than Kansas definitely struck something with me.”
The star first rose to prominence when he competed in, and won, the first ever series of the UK instalment of the hit US reality competition, RuPaul’s Drag Race, back in 2019.
He says that he identified with the character of Dorothy when he discovered the Drag industry when he was a teenager, after he came out as gay.
The Vivienne said: “I came out at 14 and moved to Liverpool when I was 16 and quickly found my tribe.
“It was a big sigh of relief that these people were exactly like me. And then I saw drag queens and thought “wow, I’m really in Oz now!
“It’s a crazy full circle from little seven year-old James dreaming of being Dorothy to now being able to portray this song on ice.
He also revealed that he wants to only make people happy when they watch his next performance in the long running ITV ice dancing competition.
He admitted: “When people watch this performance, I hope that they are transported to this happy place and whatever they’re going through, just know that over the rainbow there is something fabulous waiting for you. And you’re a very special person who can get through anything.”
