EXCLUSIVE: RuPaul’s trusted sidekick Michelle Visage has landed her own BBC show, in which she will be joined by celebrity friends to dish out candid advice to dilemma-stricken fans.
Following a successful pilot last month (first revealed by Deadline), youth channel BBC Three — which is home to RuPaul’s Drag Race UK — has commissioned World Of Wonder to make eight-part series, Michelle Visage: Get Off Your Ass.
Visage will call on her New Jersey sass and wisdom to provide life guidance to her audience from her self-styled Club Visage. She will also be joined by a celebrity guest each episode for a conversation about their own life experiences. Casting is currently underway for the show.
The Vivienne, winner of the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, will also come along for the ride, providing an immersive challenge for one of Visage’s subjects. The pair built a rapport while filming Drag Race, while Visage’s own profile in the UK was elevated by her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing last year.
World Of Wonder co-founder Fenton Bailey said the company is excited to build on RuPaul’s Drag Race in the UK after the show generated more than 12M requests last year on the BBC’s streaming service, iPlayer. A second season is on the way.
“We’ve worked with Michelle for many years and she is the living breathing embodiment of getting off your ass. We are so thrilled to work with her on her own talk show, showcasing her unique ability to relate to young people and helping them with issues they face in today’s world,” Bailey added.
BBC Three controller Fiona Campbell said Visage “is a huge talent, loved by the BBC Three audience, and this series will bring a brand new flavor to the existing mix of programs available on iPlayer.”
Michelle Visage: Get Off Your Ass will executive produced by Sally Miles, Bruce McCoy, Bailey and Randy Barbato. It was commissioned by Campbell and commissioning editor Ruby Kuraishe.