Strictly Come Dancing bosses are reportedly after a drag star for this year’s series.
Producers on the BBC One series are said to be hoping to sign a famous drag artist for the 2021 line up.
In what would be a show first, The Vivienne and Baga Chipz are both said to be in the sights of Strictly chiefs.
The pair both rose to fame on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK which streams on BBC Three.
“There’s been a real shift in thinking on this in recent years, with contests having same sex partners appearing more and more,” a source told The Sun. “But Strictly producers always try to do things a little bit differently, so they want to introduce a drag artist to shake up perceptions even further.
“It could mean that the drag artist in question performs dressed as a man or dressed as a woman – and that’s before considering whether they’re paired up with a male or female pro. There are endless possibilities, all of them exciting.”
Responding to the rumours, Baga told the newspaper: “I would do it but I probably would be the laughing stock of the show. At the end of the day, like everything I do, I’d give it my all. I think it would be marvellous, me coming down from the sky, or me coming out in a big box of chips.”
Although it would be a first for Strictly, international versions of the show have seen drag queens compete before.
Celebrity Big Brother star Courtney Act took part in Australia’s Dancing with the Stars in 2019, finishing as runner up.
For now no names have been officially announced for the Strictly cast this year.
More celebrities rumoured for 2021’s Strictly Come Dancing line up currently include Good Morning Britain’s Alex Beresford and Laura Tobin, actor Gregory Piper from Line Of Duty, former England footballer Michael Owen, former Coronation Street star Ryan Thomas and media personality Stacey Solomon.
Other celebs tipped for the show are Westlife singer Mark Feehily, fitness guru Joe Wicks, weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker and TV host Dan Walker.
Presented by Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, Strictly Come Dancing begins in the autumn on BBC One.
Meanwhile Janette Manrara is to takeover as host of Strictly’s It Takes Two following Zoe Ball’s decision to step down after ten years.
Janette will co-host alongside Rylan Clark-Neal while stepping down as a professional dancer on the main show.
The BBC say new professionals are to be announced in due course.
Picture: BBC
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