The BBC’s Blankety Blank has been hit with backlash just for featuring a drag queen despite previously being hosted by Britain’s most loved drag queen, Lily Savage.
Bradley Walsh hosted a Christmas edition of the classic game show with a stunning celebrity line-up which included Oti Mabuse, Jane McDonald, Joel Dommett, Jonathan Ross, Sara Pascoe and Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne.
It was the family-friendly, light-hearted fun you’d expect from Blankety Blank.
There was absolutely nothing controversial about it whatsoever, but still some viewers moaned about the BBC featuring ‘another drag queen’ like they’re never off the tele.
Sadly, there were many posts with the sentiment above. Thankfully though they were swiftly schooled by others on the social media platform who pointed out the obvious – Blanket Blank was famously hosted by Savage, a character created by Paul O’Grady, who died aged 67 in 2023.
X user Charlie replied: ‘Because Blankety Blank famously has never had a drag queen on…
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Alex G-L noted: ‘Blankety Blank the show that was hosted by a drag queen for years?’
@FTBBCR2 joked: ‘Blankety Blank? With a drag queen?! Never thought I’d see the day!!!!’
Police For You summed up the homophobia perfectly, adding: ‘Getting upset about a drag queen on Blankety Blank seems a bit like watching Wallace and Gromit and being offended by the cheese references.’
Perhaps the trolls are particularly disgruntled because the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special was won by Drag Race UK star Tayce, who made history as the first drag artists to compete on the campest BBC show imaginable.
Tayce suffered the same abuse, despite being the highlight of Christmas day and proving the BBC needs to be brave enough to book a drag queen onto the main series…
So that makes two drag queens on television over the Christmas period, which for some is clearly two too many, even when they’re appearing on a game show quite literally made famous by a drag queen.
Blankety Blank launched in 1979, inspired by the American game show Match Game.
It was hosted by Sir Terry Wogan from 1979 to 1983 before Les Dawson took over in 1984 to 1990.
Lily Savage eventually revived Blankety Blank from 1997 to 1999 and then again in 2001 to 2002.
O’Grady retired Savage in 2004 and didn’t bring her back before his sudden death.
He went on to host his own daily chat show, as well as presenting For The Love Of Dogs on ITV.
O’Grady was a champion of Drag Race though, which has transformed the scope and scale of drag in the UK and around the world – even if he thought his era of drag was better.
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In 2021, he told The Independent: ‘Well, you’ve got (RuPaul’s) Drag Race. It’s a good thing. It’s totally different from my day. Our sort of drag, where we worked the pubs and the clubs, the roots are steeped in variety and musical.
‘You told gags. There were some wonderful drag comedians – Phil Starr, Marc Fleming – they were polished comedians, who just happened to be in drag.
‘This lot [current drag artists] look incredible, with the make-up, the frocks, the wigs, but for me it’s like drag’s moved on, it’s transitioned.’
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Blankety Blank is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
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