George Ward (born 30 November 1993), better known by the stage name Cherry Valentine, is a British drag queen and nurse from Darlington, England. She is best known for competing on the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, where she came twelfth on the series.[1]
Valentine has professionally fulfilled her career as a drag queen since 2018. She had been qualified as a mental health nurse since 2015,[2] and still currently work as part of the NHS, and is currently helping with the UK's COVID-19 vaccine rollout.[3] In December 2020, Valentine was announced as one of twelve contestants competing on the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK.[1] She stated in her Meet The Queens video interview for the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, that working as a nurse "has put me in that right position where I'm able to understand people a bit more, and if you're a drag queen, you're working with people. By understanding people, you're going the extra mile".[2] Valentine placed 12th overall in the competition after she placed in the bottom in episode two, and was eliminated in a lip sync challenge against contestant Tayce to the song "Memory" by Elaine Paige from the 1981 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats. In February 2022, Valentine will embark on RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Official Tour alongside the entire cast of the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, in association with World of Wonder and promoter Voss Events.[4]
Personal life[]
Valentine is a Traveller and credited the "fabulous" women in her family as her inspiration for becoming a drag performer. Valentine also stated that "In the Traveller community, there's a lot of pressure on young people to marry, to settle down, to have a family and to get a job to support the family" and that when she grew up, she didn't believe being a drag performer would be viable. Discussing her background on Drag Race UK, Valentine says she grew up in a strict environment where drag was not accepted, and that she hid her Traveller heritage in the LGBTQIA+ community out of fear that she might receive "hate or backlash". Speaking to fellow contestant Sister Sister, Valentine said that "Growing up (being gay) did affect me. I don't think I was completely sane at all." Valentine hoped that sharing her story was a reminder that LGBTQIA+ people exist all over the place.[5]
