RuPaul's Drag Race star Willam to host new male stripper reality television series
A star of RuPaul’s Drag Race is to host a new male stripper reality TV series.
RuPaul’s Drag Race drag queen Willam Belli, who has the stage name of Willam Bart Belli, is to front the series, which will begin filming later this year, for LGBTQ+ streamer OUTtv.
The show, called Willam’s Dark Room Duel, will feature male-strippers going head-to-head in a series of themed challenges and performances. The entertainer who ultimately takes first place will win a prize package that includes the opportunity to open for Willam during one of their live shows.
Belli, aged 42, was a contestant on the Season 4 of RuPaul's Drag Race, and is known for being the first queen in the show to ever be disqualified for breaking the rules. Judging alongside her will be drag artist Meatball Queen and male entertainer Rhyheim Shabazz.
Ahead of the show going in to production in October, Belli told Deadline: “I used to book and manage strippers back in the day, and still some of my best friends are strippers. Trust me, when it comes to taking off clothes I know what I’m talking about. Plus, I love making stuff with OUTtv.” Philip Webb, COO of OUTtv said: “Collaborating with Willam on a new project is always such a joy because they bring the perfect balance of wit, know-how, and pure charisma. We’re thrilled to be adding Willam’s Dark Room Duel to OUTtv’s roster of diverse, LGBTQ+ programming.”
Belli is often known simply as Willam. She is an American drag queen, actor, singer-songwriter, reality television personality, author, and YouTuber. Before appearing on Drag Race, Willam worked as an actor, most notably playing the recurring role of transgender woman Cherry Peck in Ryan Murphy's medical drama Nip/Tuck.
She has continued to perform in a variety of films, television series and web series, often in drag. In 2018, she appeared in the critically acclaimed film A Star Is Born. For her performance on the dark comedy web series EastSiders, she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series
OUTtv airs many LGBTQ+ friendly shows including the BBC’s Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make Up Star.