Mourners including Ian ‘H’ Watkins, Kim Woodburn, Jade Thirlwall, Aston Merrygold and Claire Sweeney have attended the funeral of Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne, who died aged just 32.
The service for the TV star, real name James Lee Williams, who died earlier this month, was held in Denbighshire, North Wales.
The crown and sceptre The Vivienne won on Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK were carried into the church ahead of their coffin and family.
Ian Watkins, wearing a red tartan suit, walked in with comedian Jayde Adams, who wore a bright green coat and trilby hat.
Singer Jade Thirlwall and former X Factor contestant Marcus Collins were also among the mourners, with many wearing green for the service and Vivienne Westwood badges worn on the lapels of some of the men’s suits.
Soap stars Claire Sweeney and Jennifer Ellison were also there, dressed in black.
Aston Merrygold from boyband JLS, who co-starred with the drag queen in a stage production of The Wizard Of Oz in London last year, looked sad as he arrived. Celebrity chef Jameson Stocks, rumoured to be Kerry Katona’s new love interest, was also at the church in north Wales.
A horse-drawn carriage arrived outside the church for The Vivienne’s funeral, with a coffin inside topped with a white floral arrangement.
Floral tributes in the hearse read ‘Vivienne’, ‘James’ and ‘Son’. A fourth was made up of purple flowers in the shape of a witch’s hat – a nod to their Wizard Of Oz stint.
Jade Thirlwall and Marcus Collins wore sunglasses to the funeral of The Vivienne in Wales this afternoon
Claire Sweeney, who became close to The Vivienne on Dancing on Ice, looked sombre as she entered the church
Steps star Ian ‘H’ Watkins (right) arrives for the funeral of The Vivienne
Jennifer Ellison arrives at the to remember The Vivienne
Aston Merrygold from JLS came to the service. Aston co-starred with the drag queen in a stage production of The Wizard Of Oz in London last year
Kim Woodburn arrives for the funeral
Danny Beard and Hayley Tamaddon came to the service together
Fellow RuPaul’s Drag Race UK contestants Tia Kofi, Baga Chipz (second right) and Cheryl (right) arrive for the funeral
The crown and sceptre The Vivienne won on Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK is carried into the church ahead of the coffin
Floral tributes with the coffin included ‘Vivienne’ and ‘James’
The coffin of The Vivienne is carried into a church in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire
A horse-drawn carriage carrying the coffin of The Vivienne arrives at a church in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire
Ant and Dec were not at the service but sent this message and shared this photo of them together
The Vivienne died suddenly last month
Fellow RuPaul’s Drag Race UK contestants Tia Kofi, Baga Chipz and Cheryl arrived for The Vivienne’s funeral together.
Winner of the show’s fourth series Danny Beard wore a jacket and trousers covered with Vivienne Westwood logos.
He walked to the church with actress Hayley Tamaddon. Coronation Street actress Claire Sweeney was with radio presenter Pete Price.
Six doves were released as mourners left the church following the funeral. The birds flew out of baskets in the church grounds.
The coffin was loaded back into the carriage, pulled by horses with green feather plumes.
The cortege was escorted by a police car as it travelled away from the church.
Williams shot to wider fame after winning the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. They competed in the seventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars in 2022 and finished third on Dancing On Ice in 2023.
Williams, known as The Vivienne, won the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and placed third in ITV’s Dancing On Ice in 2023.
During their career, The Vivienne also competed on an all-winners season of the RuPaul franchise in the US in 2022, the only UK contestant for that series.
They also starred in BBC Three show The Vivienne Takes On Hollywood in 2020, and appeared on Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted For Stand Up To Cancer in 2022.
Williams, who was born in Wales, adopted their drag name as they were known for wearing Vivienne Westwood clothing.
The Vivienne’s coffin arrives at the church in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire
Floral tributes in the hearse read ‘Vivienne’ and ‘Son’.
The crown and sceptre The Vivienne won on Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK is carried into the church
A white dove was in a cage outside the church
Claire Sweeney arrives
Radio presenter Pete Price was in the congregation
‘H’ and friends arrive to mourn the Drag Race star
Jameson Stocks, a chef and rumoured new partner of Kerry Katona, was also at the service
Mourners at St Margaret’s Church, Bodelwyddan
The church was full of The Vivienne’s family and friends
Many mourners wore black, others opted for tartan
This member of the congregation was in all green
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star The Vivienne pictured in May 2022
Colin Grafton and The Vivienne (right) during a photo call for Dancing On Ice 2023
The Vivienne was found dead by their heartbroken father and stepmother on the first weekend of January, a friend claimed.
Cheshire Police said officers were called to an address in Chorlton-by-Backford at 12.22pm on Sunday January 5 following reports of a sudden death.
Officers said that they found ‘no suspicious circumstances’.
Born in Colwyn Bay, Wales, in April 1992, Williams grew up watching Lily Savage on TV, citing that as their first exposure to drag.
Describing Wales as a ‘big-fish-in-a-small-pond situation’, the star moved to Liverpool aged 16 to pursue a career as a makeup artist, first working on the beauty counter in Debenhams.
It was there that they earned their nickname The Vivienne for dressing entirely in Vivienne Westwood, developing their budding passion for drag while going out with friends in the evenings.
But amid their rise to fame, Williams also battled with drug addiction – something they openly spoke about in the past.
Williams previously said: ‘It was party drugs – but I couldn’t leave the drugs at the party.’
After acknowledging they needed to seek help, Williams underwent treatment at The Armistead Centre in Liverpool.
Just days before their death, Williams shared a heart-wrenching social media post.
The Vivienne channelled Elphaba as they attended Ariana’s London Wicked film premiere alongside friend Tia Kofi
Meanwhile The Vivienne’s ex husband David Ludford shared his own emotional tribute, they were together for seven years before splitting in 2023
The drag artist took to Instagram to urge fans to donate to LGBTQ+ and HIV charity SAHIR.
The Vivienne was due to be back on tour next month performing in The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang musical in the role of the Childcatcher.
Meanwhile The Vivienne’s ex-husband David Luford shared his own emotional tribute. They were together for seven years before splitting in 2023.
In a lengthy statement he wrote: ‘My heart literally sank when I got the call. Never in a million years did I ever think I’d ever be writing anything like this about James Lee Williams’.