[1] It was presented by Lorraine Kelly with Courtney Act, Rob Beckett, Melanie C and Layton Williams serving as judges.

Each celebrity drag queen undergoes a transformation before enacting either singing, dancing, lip syncing, impressions or comedy in front of a panel of judges and a live studio audience with one celebrity being crowned the winner.

[5][6] The format has been compared to the American reality series RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race.

[2][7] In February 2022, Ant & Dec performed in drag during the "End of the Show Show" segment on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, and it was later reported in May that the positive reaction to the performance and the success of RuPaul's Drag Race UK on BBC Three had been a factor in ITV commissioning Queens for the Night, a one-off reality television competition that sees celebrities undergoing drag transformations.

[8][9][10] The show was officially announced by ITV in June 2022, and is created and produced by the company Tuesday's Child.