Dancing On Ice’s The Vivienne recalls ketamine addiction

Dancing On Ice‘s The Vivienne has spoken candidly about how medics feared she could die at the height of her ketamine addiction.

The Welsh drag queen, 30, decided to move to Gran Canaria six years ago to ‘sort herself out’ after getting addicted to drugs while working in Liverpool’s club scene.

She revealed that she was hospitalised three times in one month amid her drug struggles with medics even fearing for her life.

The Vivienne, whose stage name is inspired by late designer Vivienne Westwood, said ketamine was her ‘breakfast, lunch and dinner’ at the height of her addiction.

She told The Mirror: ‘I could have three bags of it just putting my face on, I did it on and off for four years, I was getting evicted from apartments, I had no money.’

Addiction: Dancing On Ice’s The Vivienne has spoken candidly about how medics feared she could die amid her ketamine addiction

Struggles: The Welsh drag queen, 30, decided to move to Gran Canaria six years ago to ‘sort herself out’ after getting addicted to drugs while working in Liverpool’s club scene

The performer, who is set to skate in the Dancing On Ice final on Sunday, said it was moving to Gran Canaria in 2017 and meeting her now-husband David Ludford that changed her life.

When she won RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019, The Vivienne – whose name is James Lee Williams off the stage – said she had been sober for two years.

Kevin Kirby, manager of Liverpool’s Superstar Boudoir – where The Vivienne was a DJ, said he was aware of her addiction struggles and that he was sad when she moved abroad but she told him she wanted to ‘sort herself out’.

He told the publication: ‘She had to leave the scene at the time when she did otherwise she wouldn’t have been where she is now.

‘She took a massive pay cut to go over there, was able to sort herself out and there’s been no stopping her since.’

After touching down in Gran Canaria, The Vivienne started working as Sparkles Show Bar in Las Palmas and quickly became one of the venue’s top drag queens.

Show team manager Tony Oliver described The Vivienne as ‘fabulous’ and said she was ‘born to be on the stage’, gushing that he is ‘so proud’ of her.

While working at Sparkles, where she also did a comedy act doing impressions, The Vivienne met her now-husband David.

Recovery: The performer, who is set to skate in the Dancing On Ice final, said moving to Gran Canaria in 2017 and meeting her now-husband David Ludford (pictured) changed her life

The Vivienne tied the knot with David in London in 2019, with a wedding cake that was designed by Bake Off star John Whaite, who also performed on Strictly Come Dancing.

Her comments come after The Vivienne suffered a nasty fall during Sunday night’s Dancing On Ice semi-final.

She performed to Paul McCartney’s song Live and Let Die from the 1973 James Bond film of the same name. 

Her solo routine got off to a good start until The Vivienne crashed to the ice as she attempted a jump, landing on her knees.

She quickly climbed back to her feet and seemed to be in good spirits while talking about the mishap to show hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.

The Vivienne said: ‘My knees are hurting a little bit but I’m fine. We’re dancing on ice. Things happen.’

Phillip then chimed in: ‘That’s live skating for you.’

Giving the panel’s feedback, head judge Christopher Dean revealed The Vivienne had placed last due to her stumble, receiving only one point.

Molly was given two points by the judges, while Siva received three, Joey got four and Nile won the solo routine with five points.

Despite her stumble, The Vivienne still made it into the final with Siva Kaneswaran and Mollie Gallagher leaving the show in a double elimination after the public vote.

The Vivienne, who is partnered with professional skater Colin Grafton, will take to the ice again in Sunday’s final to compete for the trophy against Nile Wilson and Joey Essex.

Elsewhere, The Vivienne addressed the ‘attack’ on drag following protests against children’s story hour events.

Oh dear! Her comments come after The Vivienne suffered a nasty fall during Sunday night’s Dancing On Ice semi-final 

In the semi-final, she took to the rink for her Personal Skate having chosen the song Over The Rainbow from the 1939 film Wizard Of Oz to perform to as it held a special place in her heart.

After putting on an elegant performance with Colin, she expressed her gratitude at being made to feel welcome on the show.

Referring to recent protests against drag storytelling events for children, The Vivienne thanked the audience for their support, saying: ‘Especially at a time when drag is fully under attack, to show that drag is nothing but entertainment. We’re nothing to be feared. We just want to have fun.’

People around the globe have recently protested events which involve drag queens reading children’s books and engaging in other learning activities for young people and their families.

Dancing On Ice’s The Vivienne recalls ketamine addiction 
Source: Viral Buzz Philippines