To misquote Samuel Johnson, when you’re tired of drag queens in nine-inch heels pirouetting to Dua Lipa, you’re tired of life. And yet, when the long-awaited UK version of RuPaul’s Drag Race was finally announced in December last year, fans’ anticipation had all but disappeared.



Eleven seasons and four increasingly tired All Stars spin-offs in, the once gloriously irreverent programme now felt like a victim of its success. Phrases that had originated in the LGBT+ community and which the show helped popularise (“Yas queen!”, “Werk!”) had been appropriated by the mainstream and savvy corporations. Could a show whose main appeal had been its subversive boundary-breaking survive being subsumed into the mainstream? Some poorly worded comments by RuPaul to the Guardian, which suggested that openly trans women would not be allowed to take part, didn’t help. (He later apologised, and a trans contestant appeared in All Stars season four).



Enter into this fraught arena the British contestants. Could they change the course of Drag Race herstory? The first queen strutted into the glittery pink workroom – faithfully recreated in the mould of the US original – raised an eyebrow, and announced: “Baga Chipz here: queen of the battered sausage, and I love to be covered in daddy’s sauce.” Further quips soon followed about gin, “slags” and Coronation Street.

Sashay, UK ... the Drag Race UK trailer.

At first, there was something disconcerting about this homegrown version of the Drag Race format, but, once this feeling abated, it felt like the perfect combination. The US Drag Race had long taken itself slightly too seriously, but the UK series had queens with names such as Vinegar Strokes and Cheryl Hole, and enthusiastic, occasionally horny guest judges, including Michaela Coel, Andrew Garfield and Maisie Williams. Yorkshire lass Divina De Campo – with her endearing cackle and four-octave range – was a classic plucky British underdog. Alan Carr and Graham Norton were on hand to dish out hysterically hyper-local insults, such as when Carr told Gothy Kendoll that her makeup looked like “an estate agent that’s gone to Regent’s Park Zoo and said: ‘Can you face paint my face for 50p?’” And who could forget Sum Ting Wong making the fatal error of dressing as David Attenborough instead of innuendo queen Nigella Lawson for her Snatch Game celebrity impersonation.

All of this went down a storm with UK viewers – 6.5 million of whom had watched it at the mid-point of the series – and confused those across the Atlantic (as well as the US judges). The Frock Destroyers – a group made up of Baga, Divina and Blu Hydrangea – even scored a Top 40 hit.

But, as with all the best Drag Race seasons, this wasn’t just a show about contouring and choreography but an an emotional tour-de-force. Belfast-born Blu – whose turn as Mary Berry took cake-based double entendres to unspeakably depraved extremes – spoke with heartbreaking openness about the ban on same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland at the time of filming. Liverpool queen The Vivienne’s confident, polished sheen had barely cracked all season, when in the final weeks she revealed that it had taken the death of three friends for her to confront her drug addiction. There were also less edifying moments, such as when Baga Chipz threw her mum under the bus in a challenge, leading to accusations of sexism, but on the whole it was a competition full of heart.

‘An unexpectedly emotional, entertaining ride ... the Drag Race UK cast. Photograph: Guy Levy/BBC/World of Wonde

In the end, the crown went to the right person. Once The Vivienne’s bravado and occasional harshness turned out to be a mask for something more vulnerable, there could have been no other winner (although her claims to “humbleness, relatability and likability” in the final episode were perhaps pushing it). From her elaborate runway looks to her faultless, hilarious Donald Trump impersonation, The Vivienne is a truly accomplished drag queen: a consistent all-rounder who is both funny and glamorous, and whose success is all the more remarkable coming as it does after serious hardship.



Overall, Drag Race UK has been an unexpectedly emotional, entertaining ride, and one that has brought the format back from the brink. With a second season recently confirmed, hopefully it will go from strength to strength and maybe represent even more of the UK’s varied drag scene. But, for now, the pure comedy gold of RuPaul trying to say “Hiya girl, you alright” in a Scouse accent is worth the price of the licence fee alone.