Who is Danny Beard? Meet the RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 4 winner

Danny is the second Manchester based winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (Images via thedannybeard/ Instagram)
Danny is the second Manchester based winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (Images via thedannybeard/ Instagram)

British drag performer Danny Beard, the stage name of Daniel Curtis, is the winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK season four.

After 10 weeks of intense competition, Danny won the final challenge of singing, writing and choreographing their own song in the finale. The finale aired on Thursday, November 24 and Beard was competing against Jonbers Blonde, Cheddar Gorgeous, and Black Peppa.

Danny Beard is a 26-year-old Liverpool-based singer who began doing drag around 10 years ago. They have performed across the UK and Wales, including Manchester, London, Glasgow and Cardiff. Danny's preferred pronouns are they/them (when out of drag) and she/her or they/ them (when in drag).

Danny was the first bearded queen to appear on RuPaul's Drag Race UK and won the competition by "mixing avant-garde fashion with old school drag performance."


More about RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 4 winner Danny Beard

The Liverpool-based-singer is not shy in front of cameras and says that her drag is “about throwing the rulebook out the window.” Before Beard appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race UK, they had to apply three times before they got the chance to compete against 12 drag queens in front of the cameras.

Beard calls themselves a "sassy, shady, singing cartoon clown” Danny's drag inspiration is Leigh Bowery, of whom they have a tattoo on their arm. They currently perform many live shows and interactive comedy sessions.

After winning RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 4, Beard plans to work in television and wants to host her own Friday or Saturday night television show with sketches and celebrity guests.

In the finale, Danny shared how they were bullied as a child and how a guy from his school made knuckle dusters with pins and cut their face up when they were in year eight. Beard also spoke about how they had to move from Liverpool to Wirral to for a fresh start.

Danny’s father is a fireman but not much is known about their family history. Beard competed in Celebrity Karaoke Club: Drag Edition and was ranked fourth in the show. They were also seen on Britain's Got Talent season 10 semi-finale but did not reach the finale.

In RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Danny won the first RuPeter badge within two weeks of the girl group challenge. They also won the Catty Man improv challenge (episode 4), Lairy Poppins Ru-sical (episode 5) and the comedy roast (episode 9).

The competition grew intense between Danny and Cheddar in the second half of the show as they were winning every badge from season 4 onwards, but ultimately Beard won the show.

After winning the show, Danny said,

"Thank you for believing in me. I’ve had the wildest dream here meeting the most amazing people."

After witnessing the competition, Michelle called Danny a genius who was "full of personality and life." Michelle praised how when Danny is on stage, all eyes are drawn to her, which is "something you learn how to use."

This was the first season of the show where an episode was not judged by RuPaul and was instead judged by former contestant Raven.


RuPaul's Drag Race UK fans congratulate Danny Beard on the win

Fans were split between rooting for Cheddar and Danny. While they congratulated Beard for the win, they felt that the season required a double winner crowning for Cheddar.

RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 5 was announced on September 2, 2022 by BBC Three but the show's premiere date and time is yet to be announced.

Quick Links

App download animated image Get the free App now