When Drag Race UK fan favourite Baga Chipz met Mel C while filming Drag Race UK vs The World, she “just broke down” when she heard the Spice Girls star repeat her catch phrase back to her.
“When I met Mel C, she said she was a fan of me!” the queen recalls over Zoom, wearing a sparkly teal dress (that she happily says is from Zara), a mint wig and a gorgeous dark green smoky eye. “She told me: ‘You are my favourite. Much betta!’ while I was on the runway. I was like What? Are you taking the piss? [...] She’s one of the Spice Girls. Years ago, I would pretend I was Mel B or Geri because they were loud and slaggy like myself. These women were drag queens to me, and they have been such a big influence on me becoming a drag queen because of their fashion and attitude. Mel C was so incredible, and she is a brilliant LGBTQ+ ally.”
According to Baga, who made it to third place in the first ever UK season of Drag Race, her fashion is set to be much more memorable this time around and is sure to be turned into “instant memes” by fans online. “This season is going to be very visual,” she says. “I've got some outfits that cost a fortune but are hilarious.” Is she coming back to get the crown this time? Not really, she admits. “I’m more like ‘Let's make brilliant bloody telly!’ Because winning won’t make you memorable. There are winners from previous seasons who you never hear of. When going into this, I was just like, ‘Let's entertain the socks off everyone.’ When there was a camera on me, I was just ‘Come over here love, let’s do this.’”
In this special series, three UK queens are facing Drag Race alumni from around the world, including the US, Canada, Thailand and Holland. The mix of nationalities will undoubtedly bring some lost in translation moments, but, according to Baga, it made the show even more comical. “The references are so funny because half the time Monique Heart and Jujubee have no idea what we’re talking about. Juju and I have a close bond now. She has a very British sense of humour, and she just takes the piss out of me, and I love that. I’ve got a heart like a swinging brick, but Juju made me cry.”
Asked who, among her competitors, surprised her the most, she mentions Canadian queen Jimbo, who was eliminated right before the finale in 2020. “On his season, even though he was hilarious with the comedy and all that, I was like, ‘He looks a bit rough. He makes me look like Miss Fame.’” This time though, Baga reveals, Jimbo came with homemade outfits, refined make-up and stunning wigs - an elevated version of the queen the British public met during the lockdown on BBC iPlayer. “You could just tell he really took the judges’ critiques, went away for a year and came back 10 times better.”
As in any new season of Drag Race, fans are expecting the signature mini and maxi challenges: the ball, the Ru-sical, sewing with unconventional materials, the library, the group performances, and the iconic lip-sync for your life, among others. Only two of them made Baga less confident. “I’m not a seamstress. I don’t have time to sew, so I just buy it. But I might surprise you because Divina [de Campo, from Drag Race UK series one] gave me a few lessons. The dance challenges were nerve-wracking too. You know I love my kebabs and ciggies, so when they’re telling me to do pirouettes and death drops, I just go down like a sack of potatoes. But when it comes to acting, performing and comedy, I knew I could do it.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Versus The World starts at 9pm tonight on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer. New episodes every Tuesday
