RuPaul & Mobeen Azhar to usher in BBC3 relaunch

BBC3 has ordered a trio of shows for its return to the linear schedule in February – led by a launch night RuPaul’s Drag Race spin-off.

World of Wonder’s RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK Versus The World will bring nine international RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni from different franchises to the UK to compete to become the ultimate Drag Race Superstar.

Michelle Visage, Graham Norton and Alan Carr will be guest judges, with the participants yet to be announced.

The UK version of the main format, Drag Race UK, has aired on BBC3 for three series and pulled in audiences of around 1m for its best-performing outings in its late-night slot on BBC1.

It was ordered by BBC3 controller Fiona Campbell with entertainment controller Kate Phillips and commissioning editor Ruby Kuraishe. The executive producers are RuPaul, Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Sally Miles and Bruce McCoy.

Elsewhere, investigative journalist Mobeen Azhar is to front crime doc Santa Claus the Serial Killer (w/t), following his RTS Award-winning 2019 series Hometown: A Killing.

The 6 x 30-minute series will follow Azhar to Canada, to examine the case of serial killer Bruce McArthur, a gardener and shopping mall Santa Claus who confessed to eight murders in Toronto’s gay district over a seven-year period.

His 2019 guilty plea meant he avoided a lengthy trial, with Azhar delving into the unanswered questions the case raised around race, faith, culture and sexuality.

The doc series will be produced by Azhar’s Forest, which was also responsible for Hometown: A Killing and will be distributed by Beyond Rights.

It was ordered by Campbell with head of commissioning, documentaries, history and religion Clare Sillery and commissioning editor Emma Loach. Jeremy Lee will exec produce.

Finally Flight Club (w/t) is a 10 x 30-minute factual series commissioned with BBC Scotland and Screen Scotland in response to last year’s call for a fact-ent format from Scottish indies.

Mentorn Scotland’s project won the competitive process, having secured access to the young staff and crew of Scottish regional airline Loganair.

Louise Thornton, head of commissioning at BBC Scotland added that the quality of the idea prompted the BBC to go beyond its initial commitment to a 4 x 30-minute series, with the ambition for it to become a returning format.

BBC3’s Campbell added: “As a destination for young audiences on the BBC, BBC3 will provide a true multi-genre offering with these commissions serving up some world class entertainment.”