La Voix’s past resurfaces: Drag star’s link to £40M jewel heist

Before dazzling television audiences with comedy, song, and dance, British drag performer La Voix — the alter ego of Chris Dennis — unknowingly helped disguise two of the men behind one of the biggest jewel robberies in British history.

Dennis, now a popular contestant on Strictly Come Dancing and a fan favourite from RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K. season six, revealed the astonishing story on a podcast in 2021 — a tale that has resurfaced after gaining attention online.

“I did the make-up for two robbers in the biggest jewelry heist in the U.K.,” Dennis recalled, describing the shocking realization that followed.

On August 6, 2009, two men armed with handguns walked into Graff Diamonds in London’s West End and stole around £40 million ($73 million) worth of rings, necklaces, bracelets, and watches. The robbers, dressed in suits and detailed disguises, were nearly unrecognizable — thanks to the prosthetics and aging makeup Dennis had applied just a day earlier.

At the time, Dennis was a freelance makeup artist working at the well-known Charles Fox of Covent Garden studio, a trusted supplier for film and theatre professionals. He was booked by two men requesting “aging makeup” for what they claimed was a music video project.

“There was nothing out of the ordinary about them,” Dennis said. “They were just a bit standoffish and a bit rude.”

Over several hours, Dennis and an assistant applied latex, prosthetics, and makeup to create realistic older appearances. After some tweaks — the men reportedly thought the first look wasn’t convincing enough — they paid £450 in cash and left in a taxi.

Dennis thought little of the work until the next morning when he picked up a newspaper. On the front page were CCTV images of the same two men, captured during the Graff Diamonds robbery.

Realizing what had happened, Dennis and the studio immediately contacted authorities. Officers collected makeup tools, brushes, masks, and even the cash payment for DNA testing. Dennis was later called to testify after the suspects were caught and convicted, along with three accomplices, in 2010.

Though the ordeal was “frightening,” Dennis recalled one moment that brought humor to the chaos.

A detective told him that the robbers had crashed their getaway car into a cab and abandoned it — leaving behind a cellphone, a shotgun, and ammunition. “They weren’t the brightest bulbs in the box,” Dennis joked.

While most of the stolen jewelry was never recovered, investigators believed the pieces were broken up and resold in black markets.

Interestingly, the Charles Fox studio had been linked to another major heist years earlier. In 2006, materials from the same studio were reportedly used by criminals involved in the £53 million Securitas depot robbery in Kent — the largest cash heist in U.K. history.

Dennis, now best known as La Voix, hasn’t publicly commented on the resurfaced story but continues to enjoy his success on Strictly Come Dancing.

In a recent post on social media, La Voix said she is having the “time of my life” performing on the show — a long way from the days of latex masks, fake wrinkles, and an unexpected connection to a legendary crime.