Drag Divas, London’s show-stopping, death-dropping drag party show, is proud to unveil the identity of its Drag compere extraordinaire as none other than Simon ‘Showbiz’ Gross, who will unveil his drag persona for the very first time in his West End Drag debut. Presented by The Entertainment Providers, this one-of-a-kind show will entertain and delight at Rialto Casino’s Backstage Bar, Leicester Square for a strictly limited season from 6th October to 30th October 2022.
Simon is best known for his stint in the Chanel 5 hit show Big Brother house in 2015. He went down in Big Brother history for being the quickest ever eviction after just two hours in an opening night ‘Time Bomb’ twist! He was invited back into the house two weeks later and became a Big Brother legend with his catchphrase ‘Showbiz!’.
Simon has been the world of entertainment and theatre for 35 years and trained at Guildford School of Acting. After almost a decade of being told he’d make a fabulous Queen, Simon has decided it’s time make his Drag debut as Queen Show-Biz and in his own words, become the UK’s version of RuPaul!
Simon has had a versatile career as an actor, presenter, producer, and entertainer. From humble beginnings as a Butlins redcoat, Simon has graced West End stages and delighted panto audiences. Some of Simon’s favourite roles to date are Edna in Hairspray, Benny in the West End production of Singalong ABBA and the Emcee in the European Tour of The Best Of Broadway. His TV credits also include Noel’s House Party (1998), What the Butler Saw (2004) and Hell’s
Kitchen (2005). He has written for OK!, MailOnline, The Sun and New magazine. Simon also provides red carpet coverage for glamourous events, most recently at the TRIC Awards interviewing Eamon Holmes, Kate Garraway, Peter Andre, Rob Rinder, as well as the privilege interviewing Sir Cliff Richard! Simon’s production company The Entertainment providers produced Drag Divas at The Arts Theatre in 2013 and has also produced the touring UK production of adult pantomime Sinderfella. For the last 20 years Simon has produced the annual adult pantomime in London’s West End, starting in 2001 for the Leicester Square Theatre, until most recently Snow White And The Seven Merry Men for The Grosvenor Casino in 2021.
Simon will be joined by a cast of Queens lead by the rising star and vocal phenomenon behind
Luna Cortez (Resident Queen, The Village, London; Resident Queen, Zodiac, London), Theo Kkoshi. Nathaniel Purnell (Kipps – The Half a Sixpence Musical, Noel Coward Theatre), a recent ArtsEd graduate will make his drag debut, as will Davide Lovera, an Italian actor-singer-dancer, who has been a Royal Caribbean lead vocalist since 2016. The Queens will be flanked on stage by Drag Divas dancers Richard Womersley, who featured in Harry Styles’ video for Treat People With Kindness, and Scottish dancer James Carson (Pennyworth, Starz) who began his career onboard Princess Cruises.
This unique show will include queens performing as retro favourites such as Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer and Diana Ross and the Supremes. The line-up of chart-topping pop star drag performances will also include Madonna, Britney, Beyonce and Lady Gaga. Audiences will be gagged by performances by queens embodying ballad powerhouses like Celine Dion, Cher and Whitney, and home-grown London talent such as Amy Winehouse and Adele. Drag Divas is the only show in London’s West end offering a brilliant, ballsy drag party and will be at Rialto Casino for a strictly limited run – a must-see for drag fans!
