Ahead of the return of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, the next set of drag queens hoping to be crowned the winner have been “Ru-vealed”.
Global drag icon and judge supremo, RuPaul, presides as twelve of the nation’s most “fabulous queens” compete over ten weeks to be crowned the UK’s Next Drag Race Superstar. In usual fashion, each week, the queens face challenges that test their “drag race prowess to the max” in the hope that they have impressed the judges enough to avoid being one of the bottom two queens facing a lip sync for their life and elimination from the competition.
Despite being joined by Michelle Visage, a celebrity special guest and Graham Norton and Alan Carr on a rotational basis, the ultimate say on who “shantays or sashays away” comes down to RuPaul.
READ MORE: Liverpool queens can apply for series 5 of RuPaul's Drag Race UK
Here is the list of queens hoping they have what it takes to make it to the final:
Danny Beard
The 29-year-old self-proclaimed “sassy, shady, singing cartoon clown” is flying the flag for Liverpool this series, following in the footsteps of the first ever winner, The Vivienne, and Sister Sister, who appeared on Season two.
What makes Danny different from the other competitors is that they are the first ever bearded queen to compete on Drag Race UK. They said: “I’m a Ru Girl, I can’t believe it. I love having a beard, mixing genders and putting them in the blender. My drag is about throwing the rulebook out the window.” Explaining what fans can expect at a show of theirs, Danny said they “work all around the country on the cabaret scene mixing club kid aesthetic with old school drag performance style”.
Danny, who has been doing drag for a decade now, added: “At my shows, you get live vocals, interactive comedy and an hour's worth of entertainment for a very reasonable fee. I like to belt out Adele and finish on a big Queen number. The thing that makes people want to come back to my shows is my singing.”
Asked why they think they deserve to win, Danny said: “Drag Race is a dream-making machine and I'm here to make my dreams come true. There has never been a bearded Queen on Drag Race UK and I am making history with my hairy chinny chin chin. I’m here for a laugh and plus, I’m the best.”
Cheddar Gorgeous
The 38-year-old from Manchester describes herself as a “living spectacle and cultural icon”. Dressed as a “Mancunian busy bee”, Cheddar’s drag name is a nod to the British landmark Cheddar Gorge.
She said: “A lot like Cheddar Gorge, I go on forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and sometimes I'm damp. My drag is a living spectacle. A collage of makeup, costume and performance. You could see anything at a Cheddar Gorgeous show as my drag is otherworldly and ethereal. Growing up, I was a bit of a geek and I was enamoured by aliens, gods, goddesses and strange monsters and now in my drag, I like to harness the energy of science fiction, fantasy and magic.”
Drag has allowed Cheddar to be “so lucky in life” and travel all over the world from LA to Hong Kong, but now she is ready to show the UK what makes her worthy of being the next drag superstar.
She added: “Most of all, I am excited about the challenge. I don't know what’s going to be thrown at me, but I quite like having things thrown in my face and just seeing what happens. That's the pleasure of life, isn't it?”
Baby
The 25-year-old from South London is otherwise known as “London’s Afro Punk Princess”. Baby, who has been doing drag for four years now, started out performing around clubs in England’s capital. Whilst at university in Brighton, she learnt “how to block my eyebrows, throw on a lash, walk in a heel” and now here she is as a “glamorous queen”.
Baby reckons her strengths in the competition are that she has “incredible attention to detail” with her looks and performances and can “really see myself kind of shaking up the way things are done”.
She said: “I’m so excited to be here and to show everyone what Baby is all about. My drag is pretty, punk and Black. I love to represent my culture and I love playing within the area where black culture and alternative culture meet."
Black Peppa
Black Peppa is originally from the Caribbean but for the past few years Birmingham has been her “home”. The 29-year-old’s drag name comes from the fact that she “loves spicy food” and she always carries “hot sauce in (her) bag”.
She said: “Back when I was growing up in the Caribbean, my mum always grew chillies in her garden and she made her own homemade hot pepper sauce and so I decided to call myself Black Pepper. And later, I was inspired to change the spelling after a chance watching of Peppa pig. I saw her hang up the phone on her friend because her friend could whistle but she couldn’t. I thought to myself Peppa pig is the OG, and that is why I’m Black Peppa with a twist.”
Black Peppa, who has been doing drag for two and a half years, said fans can expect her to be out of breath when they come to see her perform because she is going to be “giving you splits, dips, death drops and high jumps off the bar”.
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Copper Topp
Copper Topp is a 38-year-old performer from Cheltenham who aims to win the competition with her “old-school” style of drag.
Planning on being the “campest queen”, Copper loves “jumping into the splits” but says ultimately for her “it’s all about comedy, camp and serving it to the world”. She said: “I am the feel-good ginger of drag and now I’m a Ru Girl and on top of a mountain. There are four people who inspire my drag. The first is Victoria Wood and the second is Julie Walters. I'm obsessed with them. And the third and fourth have to be The Cheeky Girls.”
Copper, who has been doing drag for nearly four years, said she was “always prancing around the house with a T-shirt” on her head feeling fabulous and when she is in drag she feels that fabulousness once again.
Dakota Schiffer
The 22-year-old from Sussex is “ecstatic” to be making history as the first trans girl to walk through the doors of Drag Race UK.
Describing her drag as “the generation Z’s answer to Sharon Tate”, Dakota said: “My drag is a love letter to the ’60s and the ’90s. I’ve always been intrigued by the 60s and 90’s supermodel era and my number one Hollywood icon is Sharon Tate in Valley of The Dolls and I worship everything she's ever been in – she’s such a style icon to me. My drag aesthetic is always beautiful and fashion first.”
Dakota claims her strengths in the competition will be hair, fashion, sewing and her “good eye”. She added: “I have always loved fashion, hair and makeup and drag allowed me to combine all my favourite hobbies into one amazing profession and I've been doing drag for about four years now. Initially, I struggled to embrace my feminine side and drag gave me the escape I needed to come out as trans and embrace all of my inner femininity.”
Jonbers Blonde
The 33-year-old from Belfast is described as being a “showgirl on a Saturday and an absolute bin-fire on a Sunday”.
The self-proclaimed “high-fashion pink” has been around the world performing with the likes of Melanie C and has been a background dancer for Years and Years and Jessie Ware. Fans can expect “a lot of movement” from Jonbers - who explained it’s “like coming to watch a crab perform”.
She said: “There's a lot of moving back and forth. I‘m a storyteller too, so accompanied by my Irish flute, you‘ll get a great yarn with plenty of animal and Irish references.” Jonbers who has been doing drag for over a decade but “good drag for the last six (years)”, reckons she can take home the crown thanks to her plan to “go big and wild”.
Just May
The 32-year-old from Essex is the “world’s premier Geri Halliwell impersonator”.
Just May has been doing drag “for longer than Series 3 winner, Krystal Versace’s life” and said the job isn’t always glamorous and comes with its own dangers. She said: “You never know when you're gonna trip over your own heels and end up face burst in a stranger's lap. That can be pretty tricky.”
The Spice Girls fan plans on “picking up that crown and sceptre” and wearing it “until it falls off my body”.
READ MORE: RuPaul’s Drag Race UK special guest judges announced including Alison Hammond and Boy George
Le Fil
The 36-year-old from Yorkshire is "your all singing, all dancing, Chinese Popstar".
Described as the "intersection of art, fashion, music and sculpture", Le Fil likes the idea of "breaking genre, breaking gender and creating art". Le Fil has been dressing "femininely ever since I was born" but said drag is "basically an amped up version of my everyday wear".
He said: "I’ve been doing drag professionally for a while now, and my career highlight was touring around the world with Spice Girl, Melanie C from Brazil to Australia to Europe. She’s my childhood idol so it was a dream come true.
"I have a lot of drag skills required of a drag Race Superstar. I can sing, I can write songs, I can act, I can dance, I can style, and I can create. My strength in this competition is my eye for detail. I have studied hard to get here. I take notes and I’m going to use all my knowledge to beat the other queens. The other queens might underestimate me. They might not even see me because I'm only two foot four but there is no way that I will fade into the background."
Pixie Polite
The "big, bold and beautiful" 29-year-old from Brighton entertains her fans with "powerhouse vocals, all the camp tunes anyone could want for and a little bit of comedy thrown in for good measure". Pixie's name comes from her love of Disney, whereas her surname comes from her "always being a very polite young woman."
She said: "Pixie Polite by name and Pixie Polite by nature. Drag gives you the licence to be naughty, so if these girls come for me I might get a bit rude. I've been doing drag now for about eight years and that makes me a veteran. I’m very experienced and well known. I’m booked and blessed, so, sign me up for battle."
Sminty Drop
Sminty describes herself as a "sexy cyber supermodel from outer space". The 23-year-old from Lancashire claims the other queens should be "worried about her".
She said: "Drag gives me the power to draw something on a piece of paper and make that drawing come to life. That is literally what I love. I've been doing drag for about three years now. There was a year before then but I count that as a trial run so it doesn’t count. You are going to see stunning looks, you’ll see a gorgeous face and lots of hair. I love a good time and I know how to entertain a crowd."
Starlet
The 23-year-old from Surrey is going to be "the polished, silver screen beauty pinup" of Series four. Originally from South Africa, where she said had "very little understanding" of LGBTQ+ culture and had never seen a drag queen, Starlet moved to the UK six years ago. Her drag name pays collective homage to all of her favourite old movie stars including Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly.
Starlet, who has been doing drag for four years now, said: "I have a unique and distinct look and I've got a very good eye. I’m creative and versatile. I put all of my energy into perfecting every tiny detail of my look and every one of my looks has its own unique fantasy. Drag is my greatest passion. I think I'm the most competitive person I know. I've always got to be the best at what I'm doing. People sometimes think I’m a b****. I’m not. I'm quite sweet. I blame it on my eyebrows."
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