Strictly Come Dancing star La Voix accidentally got caught up in the biggest jewel heist in British history, it has resurafced.
The stranger-than-strange story has done the rounds again after the drag queen joined the BBC reality competition series, and fans have been left totally gobsmacked at the utterly bonkers connection.
Forget the Louvre heist, more like the La Voix heist! Well… kind of.
In 2009, La Voix, whose off-stage name is Chris Dennis, was working as a theatrical make-up artist when she landed an interesting gig – to age two men up with elaborate make-up – assuming it was for a music video.
Over the course of four hours, she used liquid latex masks, wigs and skin-tone altering techniques to transform Aman Kassaye and Craig Calderwood into older men.
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Little did they know their hard work was going to be used for nefarious purposes.
Sure enough,an hour later, the two men rocked up at Graff diamond store on New Bond Street and threatened the staff to clear the cases at gunpoint – ultimately leaving with £40m worth of gems.
In the end, Calderwood was found guilty of robbery and possessing a firearm and sentenced to 21 years in jail. Meanwhile, ringleader Kassaye was sentenced to 23 years for conspiracy to rob, for possessing a firearm and for kidnap.
On the Little Did You Know podcast in 2021, the drag artist recounted how they got caught up in the wild tale.
‘I was booked to do two men who wanted to be made to look older, and I was told it was for a music video. We started doing things you could do with latex and all the ageing make-up,’ they said, adding the duo were a ‘little stand offish’.
After requesting various changes and paying £450 for the make-up services, they headed straight to the jewellery store.
The next morning, Dennis picked up the paper to discover they recognised the grainy CCTV faces looking back at them.
‘I thought, “That’s those two men that I did the make-up on yesterday!’
Scotland Yard detectives not only interviewed the TV personality but also make-up brushes, gowns, banknotes and rubber masks to test for DNA, which helped lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.
La Voix even had to give evidence in court, which they described as ‘very frightening’.
The crazy story from their past has left Strictly fans utterly shocked.
‘Morning everyone! Quick question, am I suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning or did I ready this correctly? Lmk!’ Fellow drag star Marmalade wrote on X.
‘I’m so so deeply obsessed with La Voix,’ xylottie shared.
‘This is an insane piece of lore to drop,’ roseahhs said.
‘This is probably the craziest thing I’ve read,’ llysistrataa wrote.
The performer rose to prominence as a runner-up on season six of Drag Race UK and is now partnered with Strictly pro Aljaž Skorjanec.
As for her hopes for her time on the show, she joked with Metro that she is ready for the Strictly curse.
‘I say bring it on, you know what I mean? I’m single. Absolutely,’ she told us.
As for bringing drag representation to one of the biggest shows on the broadcaster, she said: ‘‘I think the want for it for many, many years has been there. I mean, it’s the camp-est, glittery show, the whole thing goes hand in hand.’
She continued: ‘There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be, and I’m just glad to bring good entertainment to that show.
‘There’s no deeper message. There’s no ulterior motive. It’s just prime time TV. I think we’re used to Dame Edna and Lily Savage for all those years. Let’s bring that back to the TV.’
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One this Saturday at 6:35pm.
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