Here’s Why There Are No Cash Prizes on “RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K.”

Regular viewers of RuPaul’s Drag Race are used to hearing Mama Ru give winners “sickening supplies” of makeup from Anastasia Beverly Hills, glamorous trips, or a grand prize of $100,000. But if you caught the premiere episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K., then you might have noticed that the winners walk away with… a badge?

The reason the U.K. queens are not being showered with British pounds is because the BBC—which airs the series in the U.K.—is publicly funded and therefore does not allow commercial sponsorships.

Instead, the winner of the series premiere’s maxi challenge received a Ru Peter badge, a sparkly pin inspired by the children’s show Blue Peter, which gives badges to special viewers or guests of the program. As for the queen who will be crowned the U.K.’s next drag superstar, she will be “whisked off to Hollywood to star in her very own digital series, produced by the hit-making team that created RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Ru announced on the episode.

Now that Great British Bake Off cake stand prize makes a lot more sense.

“The winner of Rupaul’s Drag Race UK will receive…” pic.twitter.com/dCt2ujjT6z — jeff chatterton (@jeffchatterton) October 4, 2019

Even if the winning queen doesn’t walk away with £100,000, we are sure they will make it up with increased booking fees after their global exposure.

RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K. is jumping the pond to its original U.S. network home, Logo, and will premiere Friday, October 11, at 8/7c on the cable network.