The queens who will be sashaying their way down the runway on the first-ever series of RuPaul’s Drag Race
UK have been revealed.
A total of 10 drag artists will be battling it out on the
BBC Three series when it begins streaming in October. There’s a broad spectrum of queens who have been cast, ranging from those who specialise in comedy, to singers and so-called ‘look’ queens.
Producers have also sought to find contestants from across the country and not just from the
London scene, with queens from Yorkshire,
Liverpool, Birmingham and Belfast.
Get to know them all below...Baga Chipz, 29, London“Baga Chipz is a pub queen; tart with a heart; Like someone’s auntie I give advice on how to pull fellas and how to get pissed.
“I’m not one of these gorgeous beautiful Kate Moss lookalike drag queens. My style is more cabaret, old school, sequin frocks, Shirley Bassey, Danny La Rue, Lily savage kind of drag. I’m common as muck, bagachips from Walthamstow.”Blu Hydrangea, 23, Belfast“Blu Hydrangea is like a GCSE art project, high
fashion from outer space, a cartoon character - with muppet realness. She is queen of the makeup brush and her strength lies in her mug.
“Not only am I a look queen but I can dance, I can perform, I can do some funny movements to make people laugh.”Divina De Campo, 35, West Yorkshire“My act is a massive variety of different things. You’ll get some opera, Italian aria, some pop tunes, some show tunes, some blue tunes I like sing things that are a bit more challenging or exciting that makes people say ‘oh my god, I wasn’t expecting that.’ A bit of everything for everybody.
“My style of drag is old school glamour. A sequin dress, a big wig, a big lash, an approximate face.”Crystal, 34, London“Crystal is a gender bending, ‘mess with your brain’ kinda drag queen. She stands for tearing down gender constructs using creativity, looks, and fashion and crazy performances. I do aerial circus, I can crack a whip, put cigarettes out on my tongue - it’s a freak show. It’s unexpected. It’s nothing you have ever seen before.
“I’m unique as a drag performer because I’m not afraid to think outside the box and create looks, concepts, acts and performances that challenge and excite and pull from lots of sources. I’m not a ‘cookie cutter’ drag queen.”Sum Ting Wong, 30, Birmingham“My drag comes from singing. I was a little emo kid at 12 years old and I loved to sing. I can’t be a singer out of drag. I am a Chinese male who’s overweight and losing his hair. I’m never gonna make it like that so drag helped me, and the 12 year old me, finally live out my dream of performing and singing. That’s the only reason I put all of this on - so I can perform and sing. It’s the best job in the world.”Cheryl Hole, 25, Essex“I’m a dancing diva, I’m known for my dance moves, death drops and pure entertainment and that’s what you want from a drag queen isn’t it? My style of drag is that Essex glamour with a touch of showgirl. Everything’s got a bling, a touch of vajazzle but a real girl at heart. I like to play up the Essex stereotype and really incorporate that into my drag.
“My drag name comes from the icon and Geordie princess Cheryl Cole. Cheryl has inspired so much of my life. I’m also in a Girls Aloud drag tribute group called ‘Gals Aloud’ and I play Cheryl for obvious reasons.”Gothy Kendoll, 21, Leicester“My drag is dark, contemporary, striking and unique, and everything that is cool and fresh about UK drag now. The fact that my name is Gothy lets me bring in those darker elements; especially when it comes to wigs and makeup.
“My name comes from my friend who described me as a Ken doll but a gothy one because I used to be wear loads of black, have really black hair, but also be really tanned and wear loads of makeup!”Vinegar Strokes, 35, London“I am a straight up
comedy queen, I do stand-up comedy, I sing in my own particular style. I’m like Tina Turner meets Lizzo meets Kat Slater.
“I’m a working class girl and I like to put that in my act and celebrate that and wear my heart on my sleeve. It’s really important to me because we live in an age where so many want to be something else and actually it’s great to celebrate who you are.”Scaredy Kat, 20, Wiltshire“I’d say my style of drag is probably very pink, very cute and very feline-esque. It’s very camp, exciting, colourful and bold. Cute, pink and scared - like a nervous flamingo. I’m unique and another that makes me unique is that I’m the youngest queen ever on Drag Race.
“At the moment, I do a lot of drag alone in my house but I’ve made quite a lot of videos -
music videos, lip-sync videos, arty stuff and pictures, creative things. I want to change that and I need to be on a stage in front of millions of people because the attention just has to be on me right now.”The Vivienne, 27, Liverpool“My style is like a scouse wife who has come into money, she moved to LA and blew it all and then she’s had to move back to Liverpool. I like to have a really fierce look, but I like to be hilarious on stage so I’m kind of an old school and the new school put together which I think works.
“Comedy is definitely my trump card. My favourite trick in drag is my vocal impersonations so I do everyone from Kim Woodburn, Cilla Black,
Donald Trump - you name it, I’ll do it - for the right price!”
Drag Race UK was announced by the BBC back in January, following the international success of the original US version.
RuPaul will be heading up the judging panel alongside BFF Michelle Visage, as the pair are joined by rotating judges Alan Carr and Graham Norton.
There will also be a series of guest judges including former X Factor judge Cheryl, legendary model Twiggy,
Hollywood star Andrew Garfield, Chewing Gum’s Michaela Coel, Game Of Thrones actress Maisie Williams, Jade Thirlwall of Little Mix and Spice Girls singer Geri Horner.
Last year’s Strictly champ Stacey Dooley and daytime TV’s Lorraine Kelly will also participate in the
British Snatch Game, while Strictly pro AJ Pritchard will team up with his brother and
Love Island contestant Curtis to take on a coaching role on the series, joining singer and producer MNEK.
Meanwhile, Michelle Visage has also been confirmed as one of the celebrities competing on the new series of
Strictly Come Dancing, which returns to BBC One next month.
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