Rainbow Crew is an ongoing interview series that celebrates the best LGBTQ+ representation on screen. Each instalment showcases talent working on both sides of the camera, including queer creatives and allies to the community.
Next up, we're speaking to Danny Beard about her time on Drag Race UK. Season four spoilers follow.
Ahead of the finale, Danny Beard told us that the crown "is going to look so gorgeous on my head if it comes my way" — and she was right! With four challenge wins and that gorgeous sceptre in hand, the crown sure does look correct on Danny following last night's herstoric win. Mystic Mog would be proud.
Digital Spy caught up with Danny Beard two days prior to celebrate her triumphant run and discuss everything season four threw her way.
Fans sometimes have a very restricted view of what drag can be, which can lead to stigma when drag doesn't fit their exact definition. As a bearded queen, how has that impacted you, and have those kind of reactions changed since joining Drag Race UK?
Being a bearded queen, people expect one thing. My version of what a bearded queen is, is very different to how a lot of girls who have got hairy chins do it. Mine isn’t the be all and end all of my drag. It certainly was when I started, hence the name Danny Beard. But for me, it’s more interesting that it’s something you might not clock straight away – and then you do.
I like that journey of appearance, that first impression. And then when you start noticing the details, you notice things like the beard. I like that mishmash of gender.
I’ve had a very lucky career, in terms of: I’ve always worked. Before the show, I was booked and blessed up and down the country, working my little titties off. I think the only different now is that I can’t pop to Tesco in my scruffs now, because there’s bound to be some Salford mum that recognise me, and asks me for a picture. Hopefully that’s not going to be my life forever, but I’m enjoying the moment for now, and it’s really nice.
It’s nice that everyone that stops you in the street will say, "Oh my God, I watched you on Drag Race." It can be a 96-year-old woman, and then I got stopped in the gym by this really macho man who was like, "You’re me and my girlfriend’s favourite." So many people watch it, and so many different kinds of people. It brings so many people together. I love every minute of it.
Are there any moments you wish had been included in the edit but were removed for whatever reason?
Remembering a few of the things that Ru had said to us on the runway, I remember at the time, thinking, "Oh, I wish that was in." And now looking back on it as a whole, I’m kind of glad those little personal things weren’t in it. That was a comment to me, to help me grow as an artist, and it wasn’t necessarily needed to be shared with the world.
No, I’m quite happy the way it went – all the ups and all the downs. The camera doesn’t lie. You know what I mean?
How did you feel about the judges' critiques, looking back?
I felt really lucky on this season. I didn’t really get any negative critiques. There were times when I got in my head about that. I was like, "What’s happening? Have I missed it? Am I about to lose? Are they saying I need to change things, and I’m just not hearing it, and I’m hearing the good stuff?"
But honestly, I enjoyed every moment of it. I even enjoyed the critiques. And I enjoyed hearing the critiques that the other girls got, because you can learn from other people’s critiques: what they like about other people. And you can think, "Do I do that? Do I not do that?" I just think: if you go in there, eyes open, ears open, and hole open, anything can happen.
The Drag Race fandom can be quite toxic, but leading up to the finale, you tweeted that fans have been more supportive this time around. What's the fan response been like for you personally?
I feel quite blessed. The hate that I’ve received – I’m the type of person where I kind of find the humour in that. I’m kind of like, "Well, it says a lot more about you than it does about me." I’m sat here with my dreams coming true, and I’ve put myself in a position to be judged on television. So I can’t get my back up if people are going to judge it.
Do some of the things I’ve read and heard hurt me and upset me? Yeah. Do I naturally want to fight back and prove them wrong? Yeah, but you’re never going to win over everyone. I don’t like everybody. In fact, I don’t like most people. A lot of people aren’t going to like me, and that’s fine.
I’m not here to be liked by everyone. I’m here to put the best version of myself forward. And if you still don’t like that, then that’s OK as well. There’ll be someone else that you do like.
What I’ve found this last week, building up to the final, is that so many people have been saying that they might be Team Jonbers, but they’ll be happy for Danny to win. Or, "I’m Team Danny, but I’m happy for Cheddar to win." Or, "I’m Team Peppa, but I’d be happy for Danny." Or whoever. Whatever combination that their favourites are.
I just thought: I’ve never seen that. I’ve never seen that on a UK season where people are happy for one queen, and still support another, or another couple. I just hope that people are learning that you can support your favourite without bringing somebody else down.
I’ve never understood when one queen sends another queen home, and it’s RuPaul’s decision, and then the queen that stays, gets the hate. It’s not the queen’s decision.
I love that the show evokes so much emotion in people. But people need to remember that it’s a television show, and it’s there to entertain. It’s not life or death. We’re dressing up in wigs. We’ve got foam in our knickers. You know what I mean? It’s ridiculous.
What would it mean for you to win Drag Race UK?
I think for someone like me – I never saw myself like a Ru Girl. I never thought that my kind of drag would be given the time, and not just the time, but the kind of respect that it’s been given. I always thought that if I ever did get on the show, they’d probably ask me to shave in episode two, and kick me out in episode three for a storyline.
It was the opposite. The experience was very opposite to that. It was a space where I really thrived. Everyone who works on that show – I’m talking the queen team that you got to meet in makeover, to camera crew, to Ru, to the producers – everybody wants you to do well.
Honestly, I feel like I’ve done the best I could have done, and I’m so proud coming away with it. So no matter what happens, I’m walking away a winner, because my dreams are coming true. I’m having the conversations I’ve always wanted to have, and I’ll always thank the show for that.
That said, that crown is going to look so gorgeous on my head if it comes my way [laughs].
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season 4 airs on Thursdays at 9pm on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer. It streams on WOW Presents Plus in the US.
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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
