The family of drag performer George Ward, better known as Cherry Valentine, have announced that he has died at the age of 28.
From Darlington, Ward grew up in a traveller community and identified as gender fluid, using the pronouns they and them. They appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK‘s second series and fronted the BBC documentary Gypsy Queen And Proud.
A family statement on their passing, believed to have taken place on Sunday, noted:
“It is with the most heart-wrenching and deepest sadness to inform you that our George – Cherry Valentine – has tragically passed away. This will come as a profound shock to most people and we understand there is no easy way for this to be announced. We are still processing George’s death and our lives will never be the same. We ask for your patience and your prayers in this time. We love you Georgie.”
In 2015, Ward graduated as a mental health nurse before entering the drag industry.
In December 2020, their alter-ego Cherry Valentine was announced as one of twelve contestants competing on the second series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.
She stated in her Meet The Queens video interview 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”.
Valentine finished 12th overall in the competition after placing in the bottom of episode two, and she lost to Tayce in a lip sync battle to “Memory” by Elaine Paige from the 1981 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats.
