La Voix profile: From cruise ships and pantos to the Strictly Come Dancing spotlight
Anita Markoff | 7:01am Sat 20 SepLa Voix is the first-ever drag queen to get gussied up and perform in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom for the BBC show.
The talented performer and former Britain’s Got Talent contestant will be up against 14 other celebrities and their professional partners on the dance floor.
La Voix came from humble beginnings, but this diva quickly made her mark on British audiences after shooting to fame by performing in front of the likes of Simon Cowell and US drag queen RuPaul. Here is everything we know about the Strictly Come Dancing contestant.
Strictly Come Dancing 2025: Who is La Voix?
La Voix was born Chris Dennis in County Durham before moving to London to launch her career. The 45-year-old has since become one of the most recognisable drag performers in Britain. She has gone on tour around the world and performed on more than 80 cruise ships.
La Voix started performing drag in the early 2000s and quickly gained attention on the cabaret circuit. Her powerhouse vocals also helped secure her roles in British pantomines for over two decades.
Where is La Voix from?
Chris grew up in Stockton-on-Tees, where his parents Richard and Lynne ran a care home. He attended Egglescliffe School before leaving home at 18 to study drama in London.
Although La Voix has now found success on both the stage and screen, she is still proud to champion her Teesside roots. She previously told Teesside Live: “It means a lot to me to be from the North-east – we’re very proud people.”
Chris’s parents have been supportive of his drag queen aspirations from the very beginning. In 2014, his dad Richard fondly said: “From about the age of 15 onwards he’s always performed. I don’t know where he gets it from but I wish I’d had some of that talent when I was young.”
Who is La Voix in real life?
Out of drag, Chris Dennis is a seasoned entertainer with a background in theatre and radio. He used to be a show host on BBC Three Counties Radio, and has championed drag and cabaret as art forms that appeal to audiences far beyond the LGBTQ+ scene for many years.
Chris has often spoken about how his drag act attracts everyone from truckers to families on a night out. “It’s an absolute mix of people,” he told the BBC. “Whether they’re truckers, miners, butchers or farmers – they are the ones that come out having had a better night than their wives who booked the ticket.”
Early career on stage and screen
La Voix’s career took off after she won Drag Idol UK in 2012 and the London Cabaret Awards’ Best Drag Act in 2014. That same year, she got to the semi-final of ITV show Britain’s Got Talent as the front woman of the London Gay Big Band.
Although the 17-piece jazz orchestra was eliminated from the competition, La Voix was delighted by the support they received from the general public, telling a local newspaper: “Being on the show was amazing…the outpouring from the gay scene has been wonderful. We were very pleased with the comments we got from the judges – Simon Cowell is a very nice guy, much more approachable than you might imagine. We were very shocked to get as far as we did.”
She went on to appear in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie alongside Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, ITV’s Queens For The Night, Paramount +‘s Queen of the Universe, and most recently, series six of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, where she finished as runner-up.
The diva has also worked with a glittering list of stars including Cilla Black, Lulu, Rylan Clark, Nigella Lawson, Pamela Anderson, and Jane McDonald.
La Voix on RuPaul’s Drag Race
La Voix entered season six of RuPaul’s Drag Race as one of the most experienced queens in the competition. She made it all the way to the final, finishing as runner-up after a dramatic lip sync to Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now.
While looking back on the experience later, she admitted to the BBC: “It was such fun, but absolutely petrifying, it was the most petrifying thing I’ve ever done. But I had an absolute ball. I would do it again in a flash. [RuPaul’s Drag Race] is appealing to people who have never seen a drag show, who never dreamed of going to a drag show, but it has opened their eyes to something that is absolute fun.”
Despite enjoying her time on the series, La Voix has no intentions of going on to feature in an episode of spin-off shows All Stars or UK vs the World. When asked about a possible comeback, the drag queen joked: “Don’t put me through it again! Do you know what? I’ve done it once and I’ve managed to do it very well and get right for the top two. So, I wouldn’t risk doing it again and being voted off the second week or not enjoying the ride as much as I have this time.”
La Voix on tour
Alongside her career on telly, La Voix has built a reputation as a hard-working live performer. She has toured internationally and across the UK with her one-woman shows, where she puts on comedic musical performances.
This September, in addition to starring on Strictly, she is heading back on the road with The Show Isn’t Over. La Voix told fans on Instagram: “My band are ready, the gowns are finished and Joanne is chomping at the bit to get behind the wheel and get back on the road!”
La Voix on Strictly Come Dancing
La Voix is making history as the first drag queen to appear on the main series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Sharing her nerves and joy, she’s admitted: “I’ve performed for royalty, RuPaul and Simon Cowell, but nothing fills me with more excitement (and quite a bit of terror) than the thought of dancing in front of millions on live Saturday night TV. Strictly is a national institution and I can’t wait to get started. All that’s left to say is: good luck to my partner! Here’s hoping they can help me go from La Voix into La Danse.”
The star has already been teasing fans with the hopes of a dance partner reveal. In a post on social media, she wrote: “Who do you hope I’m paired with? Practising my best reactions to meeting my Strictly partner! Or maybe some of these are their reactions to getting me?!”
La Voix’s Strictly co-stars
La Voix will be competing against 14 other celebrities in the 2025 series of Strictly. They include model Ellie Goldstein, ER and Doctor Who actress Alex Kingston, rugby star Chris Robshaw and EastEnders’ Balvinder Sopal. Social media influencer George Clarke, Love Island winner Dani Dyer and retired footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink are also in the cast. Footballer Karen Carney and Gladiators favourite Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, aka Nitro, will all be strutting their stuff, too.
Soap star Lewis Cope was the final member to join the line-up. He stepped in to replace Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn who pulled out of the series within days for medical reasons.
When does Strictly Come Dancing start?
The new series of Strictly Come Dancing starts on Saturday September 20, 2025. It will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. From the following week, there will be a live show on the Saturday night and a Results show on Sunday.
The series will run all the way through until December. Last year’s Strictly Live Final aired on Saturday December 14.
