Danny Beard reveals the best destinations for drag and his favourite gay bars (EXCLUSIVE)

Danny Beard became the first bearded queen to win any incarnation of Drag Race, in series four of the UK edition, and was runner-up on the 2025 series of Celebrity Big Brother. From February 2027, he will utilise his razor-sharp wit when he plays the iconic Lily Savage in SAVAGE. Written by award-winning playwright Jonathan Harvey and directed by Nikolai Foster, it will premiere at Curve Theatre in Leicester before touring the UK and heading to London’s West End. But before that, Danny hosted the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards 2026, in partnership with M&S and electrified by Polestar.

Attitude: What does holiday mode look like for you – relaxation, exploration or adventure?

Danny Beard: I’d love to be a person that says, “Oh, it’s exploration and adventure,” but it really is relaxation. I do like to do maybe 90 per cent relaxation. I will hire a boat on one day. Or a few times, me and my fella have hired dune buggies and we go off-roading and come back filthy, covered in shit. I like to do that, but the ultimate goal is relaxation. 

What is your favourite hotel? 

I’ve been so lucky to stay in some of the best hotels around the world. And of course, I’ve stayed in absolute dives in my life as well, coming up through the cabaret scene. I’ve not stayed there in a while, but I love St Martins Lane in London because it smells incredible. I always have a room with a little garden so that our dogs can stay with me and go out in the garden and have a little wee. And it’s nestled in Soho, right by theatreland, not far from Halfway to Heaven if you want to see a drag show. So, although central London is not where I’d want to go on holiday, [St Martins] still is one of my favourite hotels. 

What does it smell like? 

It smells like St Martins Lane, dear. You’d only know if you’ve been.

Where in the world have you felt the most queer joy? 

Maybe Melbourne. It was so laid-back it was horizontal. We went for a gorgeous Chinese fusion meal, and the owner of the restaurant was a beautiful trans woman, an old lady that had had it for years. And the city just felt like it had queer sewn through all of its roots wherever I went in Melbourne. It wasn’t like, “Oh, it’s so overtly gay here,” but it just felt very queer everywhere we went and very accepting and relaxed and not judgmental. 

What is the best destination for drag performance outside of the UK? 

Well, I imagine New York, but I’ve never been, so I’m going to speak from experience. I think you can see a good show in Gran Canaria, I really do. I think there’s a good mix of old-school, traditional slapstick and kind of new-school, cackety-cack-cack-boom queens. But you also find there’s queens that give you a good vocal now and again. Polly Glamorous’s vocals were the house down boots. And I mean, I’m sitting on a plastic chair drinking out of a plastic glass and knew I was going to definitely be very hungover the next day, but there are queens that work the work, talk the talk and do the do in Gran Can. 

You’re in the middle seat on a long-haul flight. Which two drag queens would you have either side of you? 

Now, I could cheat with my ride-or-die queens, and one of them would have to be Jonbers Blonde whom I did Drag Race with; I just think we get it. And then it is hard to whittle it down; I’m friends with so many girls. Maybe Bianca Del Rio the other side because, you know, whenever you’re with that bitch, she is going to be cackling, and we’re going to be reading some people down to filth.

What is the most iconic gay bar you’ve ever stumbled into while travelling abroad? 

I’m going to say Australia again. It was POOF DOOF, a big club in Sydney. We performed there when I was touring Australia. And then I got out of my drag and partied, and it just felt like an old-school gay bar, with men of all different shapes and sizes dancing with their tops off. I was a lot bigger then and I would never have danced with my top off, because I was so embarrassed, but I felt emboldened to do it in this club. Everyone was so lovely. It was so gay and queer, and not just gay, like gay men everywhere, just queer, like queers everywhere, and it was very joyous. 

Is there a historic LGBTQ+ landmark that moved you unexpectedly? 

I’m from Manchester and I love that we have a queer walk in the city with all these little tiles that you can go around and find the queer history and it kind of [is encapsulated by] the Alan Turing statue. And I think the Alan Turing story and statue is at the heart of our community in Manchester. Whenever I’m in [Sackville Gardens], I always give Alan a little pat on the shoulder and a wink. I feel like I know him.  

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This feature appears in Attitude’s November/December 2026 issue.