Dancing On Ice will pay tribute to The Vivienne on Sunday’s launch show after Drag Race star’s death at 32
THE Vivienne will be honoured by Dancing On Ice during the opening show on Sunday.
Insiders said ITV bosses had planned a tribute to the Drag artist, who died aged 32 over the weekend.
The Vivienne, real name James Lee Williams, came third on Dancing On Ice back in 2023.
A show insider said: “The Vivienne was a trailblazer and was the first Drag artist to appear on Dancing On Ice.
“ITV wants to pay their respects to them and will put out a tribute on Sunday night’s show.
“The team working on the show loved Viv and wanted to do something to honour them.”
The Vivienne’s publicist confirmed they had passed away in a statement on Sunday evening.
Today friends told The Sun Vivienne was found dead at home that day by their father and stepmother.
The source told The Sun: “Their devastated dad raised the alarm and believed they had passed away a day or two before being found.”
James was due to move to a £400,000 house next week, and had a holiday lined up.
The pal added: “They were planning a tour and really had everything to live for.”
Police said there were no suspicious circumstances relating to the death in Chorlton-by-Backford, near Chester.
The Vivienne won the first series of RuPaul‘s Drag Race UK in 2019.
But since 2016, they appeared on a number of TV shows and films including Just Tattoo of Us, The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year, Celebrity Juice and Trump In Tweets.
In 2021, The Vivienne appeared on The Weakest Link and Apocalypse Wow after impressing on The Great British Sewing Bee at the end of 2020.
They also co-hosted All-Star Dance Off with comedian Steen Raskopoulos.
During their stint on Dancing On Ice, Vivienne was partnered with professional skater Colin Grafton.
Speaking about their death, Colin said: “They truly brought light into every room they entered and gave so many people hope where there was none.”