Drag Race UK stars evacuated after ‘sick’ bomb hoax at London’s Heaven nightclub
The Vivienne, Tia Kofi, Veronica Green and Shania Pain rehearsing in Heaven nightclub shortly before they were evacuated. (Jeremy Joseph/Twitter)
Drag Race UK stars were evacuated from London’s Heaven nightclub on Monday afternoon after a “sick individual” made a bomb threat.
The Vivienne, Tia Kofi and Veronica Green were rehearsing for the Drag Queens of Pop tour, alongside a fourth drag queen Shania Pain, when police arrived and evacuated the premises.
Owner Jeremy Joseph said he had to walk around the venue with police officers and sniffer dogs while Charing Cross Station, Villier Street and Craven Street were evacuated.
“I’m not going to lie, it was frightening, but I can’t praise the police dog team enough, they were amazing, they have to enter the building not knowing if a threat is real or a hoax,” Joseph wrote on Twitter.
The nightclub’s owner hit out at the person behind the hoax, branding them a “sick individual”.
“The police took every precaution before re-opening the streets and I can’t thank them enough,” Jospeh added.
Earlier on Monday, Joseph shared a photo on Twitter of the four drag queens rehearsing on stage before they were all rushed from the building.
Tia Kofi said the bomb threat was a “terrifying experience” and thanked fans for their “kind messages”.
“We’re all safe but shaken up,” she said.
On her Instagram Stories, The Vivienne thanked the police for their swift action on Monday.
“Somebody had phoned the police possibly after seeing our Instagram knowing that we were at the venue rehearsing, and the police were absolutely amazing, they made us feel so safe,” she said.
The Drag Race UK season one winner said the incident was “very scary”, adding: “It’s such a shame after lockdown and everybody dying to get back to work and back on stage, we’re finally there, finally rehearsing for stuff and somebody decided to do a horrible hoax, prank.
“Whoever it was, shame on you, but thank you so so much to the police because you handled it absolutely amazingly you made us all feel so, so safe,” she added.
Veronica Green branded the prankster “a sick minded individual” said she was “still a bit shaken” on Monday night.
“Cannot thank the Metropolitan Police enough for evacuating us so quickly and keeping the situation under control,” she added.
Drag Race UK icons were evacuated after a ‘suspicious item’ was found
In a statement, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said they received a call at 3.12pm on Monday after a “suspicious item was discovered at commercial premises in Villiers Street”.
“The premises was closed to the public at the time. A safety cordon was put in place in surrounding streets as a precaution and Charing Cross Railway Station, which is directly adjacent to Villiers Street, was evacuated for a short time,” the spokesperson said.
“Specialist officers attended and examined the item which was subsequently confirmed as non-suspicious.”
Police confirmed that cordons were lifted shortly before 5.30pm, adding: “The circumstances in which the item was found suggest that it was part of an intentional hoax and an investigation is under way to identify the person or persons responsible.
“There is no indication, at this early stage, of a particular movie but that will form one of the key lines of enquiry for officers as their investigation continues.”
The Metropolitan Police asked anyone with information on the incident to call 101 citing the reference number CAD3901/03MAY.
Anybody with information can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
