Nottinghamshire road repairer who becomes a drag queen…

A man from Eastwood has been nominated for a Pride of Britain Award as he has raised thousands of pounds for charities. Mark Preston who works as a road repairer by day, transforms into his alter-ego Zandra by night to perform across clubs and bars in the city.

The awards celebrate the achievements of truly remarkable people who make our world a better place and the ceremony is screened on ITV in November. Mark is delighted to have been chosen although he didn't quite believe it was for real.

"The award organiser rang me while I was at work and said she was from the Pride of Britain Awards. I thought it was a wind-up so I put the phone down but she called me back to say she was serious. I was nominated as one of the final four out of thousands of people," he said.

Mark says that drag helped to save his life when he was in a dark place. He has been performing as Zandra for more than 20 years after his friends entered him in a lip-syncing competition.

"I had a nervous breakdown and was in a bad place where I tried to end my life. When I woke up, my friends had entered me in a competition for that Friday where I had a week where I worked very hard to walk in high heels while performing, dancing and lip-syncing as well," he said.

Mark got through to the finals and went on to win the competition. He realised that he absolutely loved doing drag and that he could potentially help others by performing to raise money.

"Being Zandra saved my life and not being Mark for a while helped with my depression. I thought if this could help me then what could I do for charity to help others? Twenty years later, I'm still doing it but I'm in a good place now."

Mark says that being Zandra has helped him with his confidence levels as the two have completely different characters. He also revealed his alter ego can be a bit feistier and wilder than he is.

"Zandra is definitely fiester than I am although she is still me. She has more confidence than I do which has helped me as she gives me more courage. She has helped with my stuttering too because I feel more confident when I am her so she's been very good for me."

A local charity Danielle Flutterbyes, set up in honour of Danielle Stretton who was diagnosed with the devastating end-stage renal failure and died in December 2014, got in touch with Mark after learning about his performances. He has been working with the charity for three years by putting on shows around Nottinghamshire.

"I hire out venues to put on a big show then I have other singers and performers to come and join me. Like Andy Ska who performs UB40 and The Specials and a burlesque group called The Devils who perform with me," he said.

"I've been doing this for 22 years and I've managed to raise £369,787 for charity. This is all from charging £10 for a ticket on the door."

Drag ain't easy but Mark says it's far from the performing that is the hardest part as it takes him two hours to get ready. He finds the hardest thing to do is the make up.

"It takes two hours to get ready but the hardest bit is the false nails and eyelashes. You can get one on then the other is a nightmare."

When it comes to support, colleagues, friends and family have been a huge help. Some have even gone a step further to get involved in his act.

"I work for Nottingham City Council repairing roads which is a huge change from Zandra. My colleagues have been great as they've been to see me perform and put money in the pot for charity. One friend from work actually performs in my show with me too," he said.

"My wife and daughter get involved too by helping to sell raffle tickets. My wife has also performed with me in the past too. My brother-in-laws performs The Spice Girls with me. I used to do Posh Spice but now she has left so I can't do it anymore. One brother-in-law is Baby Spice and the other is Ginger Spice."

After the Pride of Britain awards, Zandra is getting ready for a big show in November at Rolls-Royce on Hucknall on Saturday, November 19. The event will raise money for young adults with kidney disease and promises a full line-up of singers, drag artists and performers.

Mark is also incredibly proud that a play is being developed about his life and the money he has raised for charity. "Prospect theatre group in Nottingham are writing a play about my life. The actor Karl Haynes who has been in Sherwood and Downton Abbey will play me and I also have a drag queen Sugar Phoenix playing Zandra. I felt some of the parts would be too dark for me to play because it's about my depression," he shared.

When it comes to the proud moment, Mark is delighted to have helped to provide vital medication for a Nottingham woman which helped to save her life. Giselle Kennedy was in recovery from a kidney transplant when it was discovered she may need potentially life-saving medication that couldn't be accessed on the NHS.

Mark stepped in to hold a charity drag show which helped to raise money for Giselle. He is proud of being able to help her to access treatment.

"I did the show for Danielle's Flutterbyes which helped to raise money for Giselle's treatment from America. I was able to donate over £3600 for her to get treatment," he explained.

"I also sent 10 kids with leukaemia and their whole families to Disney World for a week with a nurse for each family. I had a doctor on standby for 24 hours a day and gave them £1,000 spending money along with passes and special buses. A mum phoned me afterward in tears to say thank you for the memories."

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Nottinghamshire road repairer who becomes a drag queen at night