RuPaul's Drag Race UK

HOME

TheInfoList

Click Here for Items Related To - RuPaul's Drag Race UK

OR:

RuPaul's Drag Race UK on: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Amazon]

''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' is a British reality competition television series based on the American television series of the same name. The television series, a collaboration between the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

and World of Wonder, premiered on 3 October 2019. The show is the fourth installment of the ''

Drag Race Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...

'' franchise, and the second fronted by

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

. The show documents RuPaul and a panel of judges' search for "the United Kingdom's next drag superstar", the first series title dubbed "UK's First Drag Superstar". RuPaul plays several roles on the show including host, mentor and head judge for the series, as the contestants are given different challenges to participate in each week. The show also employs a panel of judges: RuPaul,

Michelle Visage Michelle Lynn Case (nee Shupack), better known as Michelle Visage (born September 20, 1968), is an American singer, television host, actress, radio DJ and producer. She first gained recognition as a member of the musical group Seduction which ...

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeon ...

and

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy ...

. The show was renewed for a second series in 2019; however, production was suspended in March 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Production of the second series resumed later in the year, with filming concluding in late 2020. The cast of 12 new queens was announced on 16 December 2020 and the series premiered on 14 January 2021. The show was renewed for a

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

(2021), fourth (2022) and fifth (2023) series. After the first series aired, the show received numerous award nominations from the twenty-fifth

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted ...

including: "The

Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series '' Sunday Nig ...

Entertainment Award" and "Best TV Judge" with both Visage and RuPaul receiving a nomination. The show was critically acclaimed in the UK, with 15.6 million streams during the first season. The show's success is credited for being the driving force behind the

...
bringing back the defunct

television channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

. Spin-off show '' RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World'' relaunched the television channel in February 2022. The return proved successful, with the show securing five times more viewers than any other show broadcasting during the programme's time slot. The show is now recognised as one of the BBC's most popular non-scripted shows. The show's success has also paved way for contestants to break into the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

, as well as creating drag pop groups: Frock Destroyers and United Kingdolls, with both groups charting on the Official UK Charts.

Bimini Bon-Boulash Bimini Bon-Boulash (also known mononymously as Bimini; born 12 May 1993) is the stage name of Thomas Hibbitts, an English drag queen, author, recording artist and model based in East London, and born in Great Yarmouth, England. They are best kn ...

who was a member of the latter group, was the first drag queen from any Drag Race franchise to sign a major mainstream record deal, signing a joint deal with

Relentless Records Relentless Records is a British boutique and independent record label currently headed by co-founder Shabs Jobanputra. Originally known for UK garage singles such as Artful Dodger's " Re-Rewind" and B-15 Project's " Girls Like Us", Relentle ...

and

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

in July 2022. A number of contestants from the show have also signed major modelling contracts. The show also produced spin-off series ''

God Shave the Queens ''God Shave the Queens'' is a documentary streaming television series about the tour following each series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK''. The show originally premiered internationally on 10 September 2020 on WOW Presents Plus internationally, an ...

'', which follows the Drag Race contestants on tour together after the completion of the show. The show's success also resulted in the BBC purchasing broadcasting rights for both ''

Canada's Drag Race ''Canada's Drag Race'' is a Canadian reality competition television series based on the American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and is the Canadian edition of the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by Blue Ant Studios. In a similar format to th ...

'' and ''

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' is a reality competition streaming television series based on the American television series of the same name produced by World of Wonder and Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand. The s ...

''.

History

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...

'' originated in the United States, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World'' (2007–2009), and has been adapted in various countries. The show's aim is to find the next "Drag Superstar", with the winner occupying the traits of "charisma", "uniqueness", "nerve" and "talent". RuPaul has stated that the show looks for an entertainer who can stand out from the rest. Whereas

Fenton Bailey World of Wonder Productions is an American production company founded in 1991 by filmmakers Randy Barbato and Portsmouth-born Fenton Bailey. Based in Los Angeles, California, the company specializes in documentary television and film productio ...

has stated that: Everyone can relate to the feeling of being an outsider". In 2014, it was speculated that

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...

was in talks to host a UK version of ''Drag Race''. Where he had stated that he was working on the version with UK drag queen,

Jodie Harsh James Allen Clarke (born 1985), better known as Jodie Harsh, is a London-based DJ music producer, promoter, and drag queen. Born in Canterbury, Kent in 1985, Harsh attended the London College of Fashion. While at university, she first adopte ...

, along with

Katie Price Katrina Amy Alexandra Alexis Price (''née'' Infield; born 22 May 1978) is an English media personality and model. She gained recognition in the late 1990s for her Glamour photography, glamour modelling work and had regular appearances on Pag ...

as one of the judges. However, production took a halt in April 2014, due to Ross having to work on family issues. A year later in 2015, Ross and Price assisted RuPaul in a one-off search of the "UK Drag Race Ambassador", which

Series 1 The IBM Series/1 is a 16-bit minicomputer, introduced in 1976, that in many respects competed with other minicomputers of the time, such as the PDP-11 from Digital Equipment Corporation and similar offerings from Data General and HP. The Seri ...

winner,

The Vivienne James Lee Williams (born 12 April 1992), better known by the stage name The Vivienne, is a Welsh drag queen, known for being appointed the first UK ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ambassador in 2015, winning the first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race U ...

won in 2015. The Vivienne won a trip to the set of the American version of the show. Production of the show continued but again came to a standstill because TV show producers didn't think anyone would watch it. During

's time on ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguest ...

'', she said; "I tell you what, I could cast ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' the British invasion or the UK version in five minutes because there's so much talent over there. It's so different, the Liverpool queens, to the Blackpool queens, to the Mancunian queens, to the London queens. I'm not going to stop until 'RuPaul's Drag Race UK''gets made. Trust me." Channel 5 expressed interest in broadcasting the show in 2018. However, in June 2018, the producers of the American version hinted that a British version of the show was in the works.

then confirmed that he,

Randy Barbato World of Wonder Productions is an American production company founded in 1991 by filmmakers Randy Barbato and Portsmouth-born Fenton Bailey. Based in Los Angeles, California, the company specializes in documentary television and film productio ...

and

had a meeting with the BBC and that "something is coming, be afraid – be very afraid. Nothing’s impossible." Visage said about her driving force to get a UK version made: "Let me tell you I'm a big driving force behind it happening because I came over here like six or seven years ago and started performing in the gay bars. And I saw the love and the passion for ''Drag Race'' and that's the reason I did ''Celebrity Big Brother'' five years ago, was to bring attention to it. I knew that the LGBTQIA+ community in the UK needed their own version. These kids craved it, they deserved it. So, I fought really hard for this British version to happen. It took five years, but it ended up where it belonged at the BBC of all places. And it was a huge hit because there's so much heart and so much love in the UK for the art of drag." The show was commissioned by Fiona Campbell, Controller BBC Three and

Kate Phillips Kate Phillips (born 21 May 1989) is a British actress. She became famous for her role as Jane Seymour in the successful miniseries ''Wolf Hall'' (2015). She subsequently appeared in the miniseries '' War & Peace'' (2016), the first season of th ...

, Controller,

BBC Entertainment BBC Entertainment is an international television channel broadcasting comedy, drama, light entertainment, reality and children's programming (some regions only) from the BBC, Channel 4 and other UK production houses. The channel broadcasts regi ...

. The executive producers are RuPaul Charles, Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Sally Miles and Bruce McCoy, and the BBC commissioning editor is Ruby Kuraishe. Bailey credits the show as a turning point, because it helped demonstrate the show's universality.

Format

Like the American version, RuPaul has several roles within the show, acting as host, coach and judge. As the host, RuPaul introduces celebrity guests, announces the challenges the queens will take part in each week, and reveals who will be leaving the competition. For his role as a coach, RuPaul offers guidance to the contestants through each challenge, and as a judge, he critiques the queens on their overall performance of the challenge. The show uses progressive elimination to reduce the number of drag queens in the competition from the initial field of ten contestants (series 1), down until the final three, who compete in the final challenge, and the final two lip-syncing for the crown. Each episode follows a format consisting of a mini-challenge, a main challenge, a runway walk (where the contestants model fashion on a runway, usually with a theme based on the main challenge), the judging panel, a lip sync battle, and the elimination of a contestant. Spin-off series ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Podcast'', presented by

Scarlett Moffatt Scarlett Sigourney Leigh Moffatt (born 17 October 1990) is a British television personality, presenter, and former ballroom dancer from County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1 ...

and Baby Lame, airs on

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is a Closed platform, walled garden streaming media and audio download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile pho ...

, with interviews with the queens who ''Sashay Away'' each week, as well as guests.

Mini challenges

In mini-challenges, each contestant is asked to perform a different task with varying requirements and time limitations. Certain mini-challenges are repeated from series to series, or repeated from the original American season. For instance, the first mini-challenge is a photo shoot with a photographer or RuPaul himself, that includes a special twist (such as being doused with water while in full drag, having a high-powered fan turned on during the shoot, or being photographed while jumping on a trampoline): in the UK version, the queens had to do something with their own heads via Green Screen. Another recurring mini-challenge is dedicated to "reading", a drag term for making insulting observations about one's peers for comedic effect, inspired by '' Paris Is Burning''. The winner of a mini-challenge is sometimes rewarded with an advantage in the main challenge. Though most episodes have a mini-challenge, select episodes do not.

Maxi challenges and runways

The requirements of the maxi challenge vary across each episode and can be individual or group challenges. The winner of the maxi challenge also receives a special prize for their win, for example, a "RuPeter Badge" a spoof of the

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

's famous ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...

badge A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fi ...

, which would be received for doing something well. The final maxi challenge consisted of the queens taking part in an all-singing and all-dancing routine to one of RuPaul's songs. The goal of each maxi challenge involves a new theme and outcome. Contestants are often asked to design and construct a custom outfit, sometimes incorporating unconventional materials. Other challenges focus on the contestants' ability to present themselves on camera, perform with music, or perform humorously. Some challenges became a tradition across series, such as the "Snatch Game" (in which the contestants impersonate celebrities in a recreation of ''

Blankety Blank ''Blankety Blank'' is a British comedy game show which started in 1979 and is still running today, albeit with some sizeable gaps. The original series ran from 18 January 1979 to 12 March 1990 on BBC1, hosted first by Terry Wogan from 1979 un ...

''s US equivalent, ''Match Game''), a ball or a makeover, in which the contestants create drag personas for other people. The contestants walk down a runway presenting outfits. If the maxi challenge involves the creation of an outfit, that outfit is presented to the judges on the runway. Otherwise, a theme is assigned and the contestants must put together a look that fits the theme, which is presented to the judges. The runway looks and presentation are judged along with the maxi challenge performance.

Judging panel

A panel of judges cast opinions about the challenge performances and runway looks, first to the contestants onstage, and then again with them offstage.

, as with the original American version, acts as both the host and main judge, with

supporting him on the panel every episode.

and

act as rotating supporting judges, with one of them usually appearing on the panel each episode. For the seventh episode of the fourth series RuPaul was absent from the panel and Visage acted as stand-in host and main judge. Guest judges in Series 1 included

Maisie Williams Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams (born 15 April 1997) is an English actress. Williams made her acting debut in 2011 as Arya Stark, a lead character in the HBO epic medieval fantasy television series '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019). She ...

Geri Halliwell Geraldine Estelle Horner (née Halliwell; born 6 August 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, author, and actress. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of the girl group the Spice Girls. With over 100 million records ...

Jade Thirlwall Jade Amelia Thirlwall (born 26 December 1992) is an English singer-songwriter. She rose to prominence in the 2010s as a member of Little Mix, one of the world's best-selling girl groups. With Little Mix, she released six studio albums and ach ...

Andrew Garfield Andrew Russell Garfield (born 20 August 1983) is an English and American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. ''Time' ...

Michaela Coel Michaela Ewuraba Boakye-Collinson (born 1 October 1987), known professionally as Michaela Coel, is a British screenwriter and actress. She is best known for creating and starring in the E4 sitcom ''Chewing Gum'' (2015–2017), for which she won ...

Cheryl Cheryl is a female given name common in English speaking countries. There are several prevailing theories about its etymology. The most common is that it has Italo-Celtic roots and is an Anglicised version of either the French name Cherie (from ...

, and

Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London. ...

MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK (, ), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Awards, Brit Award, and has received the ...

and AJ &

Curtis Pritchard Curtis Pritchard (born 8 February 1996) is an English dancer and choreographer, known for his role as a professional dancer on the Irish version of '' Dancing with the Stars''. In 2019, Pritchard appeared in the fifth series of the British da ...

served as guest vocalists and choreographers to the contestants during themed tasks.

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show ''French and Saunders'' with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Saunde ...

revealed herself to be the first guest judge of the second series. She went onto reveal that the BBC had originally asked French to be a main judge on the first series. French said: "They did originally ask me if I would be a full-time judge, but I couldn't – because I just don't live in London. But I am going to be a guest judge in a couple of weeks." She further revealed that for the second series, due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, that each of the judges would sit on their own panel, instead of sitting together on one panel. As well as a "sort of Perspex between each judge".

Series 4 Series 4 could refer to: * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 4, the automobile model * BMW 4 Series, the automobile model line * GeForce 4 series, line of nVidia video cards * Scania 4-series, the truck model line * South African Class 6E1, Series 4, e ...

guest judges were revealed on 31 August 2022 to include:

Olly Alexander Oliver Alexander Thornton (born 15 July 1990) is a British singer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of Years & Years and for his performance as Ritchie Tozer in the Channel 4 drama series, ''It's a Sin''. Early life Alexander w ...

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

Alison Hammond Alison Hammond (born 5 February 1975) is an English television personality and actress. She competed in the third series of the reality show '' Big Brother'' in 2002, in which she was the second housemate to be evicted. She has since become a ...

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...

, Dame Joanna Lumley,

Lorraine Pascale Lorraine Pascale (born 17 November 1972) is a British television cook and USA Food Network host and former top model, best known for selling almost one million books in the UK alone. Her TV shows are in 70 countries worldwide. She had her own ...

, Leomie Anderson,

FKA Twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 17 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, and dancer. Born and raised in Cheltenham, she became a backup dancer for numerous famous musicians aft ...

Hannah Waddingham Hannah Waddingham (born 28 July 1974) is a British actress and singer. She is best known for playing Rebecca Welton in the comedy series ''Ted Lasso'' (2020–present), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actres ...

, and former ''

'' contestant Raven.

Series overview

Series 1–3 (2019–2021): BBC Three iPlayer

The first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' began airing on 3 October 2019 on the BBC Three section of BBC iPlayer in the UK and World of Wonder's WOW Presents Plus streaming service internationally, and ran for 8 episodes. The cast was announced on 21 August on YouTube and Instagram.

Baga Chipz Leo Loren, better known by the stage name Baga Chipz, is an English drag queen known for competing on the first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' (2019) and later the first season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World'' (2022). Baga Chipz ...

, Divina de Campo and

made the final, with The Vivienne being crowned the UK's First Drag Superstar and heading to Hollywood to star in their own digital TV series. In October 2020, Series 1 contestant,

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

sued

Laurence Fox Laurence Paul Fox (born 1978) is a political activist and former actor, most well-known for playing the supporting role of DS James Hathaway in the British TV drama series '' Lewis'' from 2006 to 2015. A grandson of the actors Robin and Ange ...

for defamation after he called them a "paedophile" on social media as he ranted at

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

for supporting

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

. It was revealed that the contestants from Series 1 would all star in a documentary web television series about the tour following the first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK''. The show originally premiered internationally on 10 September 2020 on WOW Presents Plus and will debut on BBC iPlayer on 15 November 2020. The eight-episode series follows ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' Series 1 contestants and it also features

Alyssa Edwards Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson (born January 16, 1980), best known by the stage name Alyssa Edwards, is an American drag performer, choreographer, and businessperson. Edwards was known for competing in drag pageantry (notably Miss Gay America 2010) b ...

from

Season 5 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of the American version as the host of the six-city tour across the UK, titled ''

''. The first series was a massive success generating many memes, huge critical acclaim, picking up numerous award nominations, and even breaking into the music charts with a top ten single, series one of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' was a triumph for BBC Three, with a huge 15.6 million requests on iPlayer so far. The second series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' was confirmed and casting was closed on 15 November 2019. Filming was indefinitely suspended because of the

. In June 2020, Visage confirmed that the show would return once government guidelines were lifted. Visage said: "It's gonna happen but we just can't do it in quarantine. So once the guidelines are lifted then we'll have more information but we are excited to get underway." On 29 October 2020, during an interview on ''

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

'', Carr revealed that production had begun again and he was due to resume filming the second series of the show within two weeks. Carr revealed that RuPaul and Visage who go through the application auditions to choose which queens will make it onto the show, had more than double the applicants than the first series. Carr also revealed that he never knows who he is going to be on the show with, as it is so secretive and when he turns up to judge the show, he does not know which queens are still in the competition and who will be the guest judges. He said of his excitement of filming the show; "They've already filmed the first one. I can't wait. I'm going to be like that kid in that Alton Towers advert saying, One more sleep!" During an interview on judge Norton's show, ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...

'',

revealed herself to be the first guest judge of the series. French revealed that the panel had now been changed to a socially distanced panel, and each of the judges had to sit at their own smaller panel, as opposed to the usual sitting together. French further revealed that the BBC had originally asked her to be a full-time judge for the first series, however she had to decline because she did not live in London and would mean a lot of travelling for her. In November 2020, BBC revealed that series two would air in early 2021. A spokesperson for the BBC said, "Our lips are still sealed with regards to the incoming queens, and extra special celebrity judges, BUT we can tell you that the second series will be even bigger than the first, with twelve queens battling it out for the title of the UK's Next Drag Superstar over ten weeks." There will be 12 queens competing for the title of "UK's Next Drag Superstar", over 10 episodes. RuPaul revealed he was "Looking forward to better days! I'm happy to announce the triumphant return of ''RuPaul’s Drag Race UK''. Early in 2021, season two will arrive with all the hope, joy, laughter and glitter you’ve come to expect from our brilliant queens. We're also currently casting season three with the best and the brightest Great Britain has to offer. We feel honored that you've embraced our little show, and our only wish is that we can offer a smile at a time when we can all use it the most." It was announced on 15 December 2020, that the second series would premier on 14 January 2021.

Gemma Collins Gemma Clare Collins (born 31 January 1981) is an English media personality and businesswoman. In 2011, she began appearing on the ITVBe reality series ''The Only Way Is Essex'', appearing until 2019. Collins subsequently went on to appear in nu ...

was revealed to be a panellist on the

Snatch Game Snatch Game is a challenge on the ''Drag Race'' reality competition television franchise. Beginning with the second season of the original American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', the challenge has taken place on every season since. It has also o ...

episode. Unlike Series 1, four queens made it to the finale with

Lawrence Chaney Lawrence Chaney (born Lawrence Maidment; 16 October 1996) is a Scottish Glasgow-based drag queen. They are best known for winning the second series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'', becoming the first Scottish drag queen to win across the franchise ...

being crowned the winner, and

and

Tayce Tayce Szura-Radix (born 28 May 1994) is a Welsh drag queen and model from Newport, Wales. She is best known for competing in the second series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'', where she was placed as a runner-up. Career Tayce has professionally ...

as runners-up.

and Randy Barbato, World of Wonder Co-Founders and Executive Producers, revealed that 2021 would have two series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK''. Stating: "Sashay away 2020. 2021 is just around the corner, and with it not one but two seasons of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK''. We are thrilled to be doing our part to make 2021 much betta!" Casting for the third series opened on 2 November 2020. One of the queens confirmed to compete is

Veronica Green Kevin Max Grogan, better known by the stage name Veronica Green, is a British drag performer most known for competing on the second and third series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK''. Career Prior to appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race, Green appeare ...

, who was promised an open invitation to return to the show after having to leave Series 2 due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. The series began airing on 23 September, and concluded on 25 November 2021.

Ella Vaday Nick Collier (born 23 September 1988), better known as Ella Vaday, is an English drag queen, actor and dancer who competed on the third series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK''. Early life and education Collier was based in Dagenham, East London as ...

, Kitty Scott-Claus and

Krystal Versace Luke Fenn (born 10 October 2001), professionally known as Krystal Versace, is an English people, English drag queen best known for winning the RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 3), third series of the Reality television, reality show ''RuPaul's Drag Ra ...

made it to the final episode, with Krystal Versace winning the third series. It was the last series to aired on BBC One as BBC Three block before the return of BBC Three as a television channel. In October 2021, BBC Three announced the opening for the casting of the fourth series. Casting closed on 10 November 2021. Series 3 contestant, Victoria Scone, who had to withdraw from the series announced she would not return to the fourth series despite receiving an open invitation. ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' was nominated for two

2022 British Academy Television Awards The 2022 British Academy Television Awards were held on 8 May 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, to recognise the excellence in British television of 2021. The nominations were announced on 30 March 2022 alongside the nominations for the ...

including, " Must-See Moment" and " Best Reality and Constructed Factual Series". Series 1 contestants Blu Hydrangea,

and Cheryl Hole partook in the spin-off series '' RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World'' in 2022, which relaunched

as a

on 1 February 2022. The series was filmed in March 2021, in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

at the same location as the third series of the show. In this series, the two best performing queens of the challenge must "Lip Sync for the World", with the winner of the lip sync earning a golden "RuPeter Badge" and choosing which one of the bottom queens to eliminate. Blu Hydrangea emerged as the winner from the series, with ''

'' Season 10 and ''All Stars'' Season 4 contestant

Mo Heart Mo Heart, previously Monique Heart, is the stage name of Kevin Richardson (born May 22, 1986), an American drag queen, reality television personality, and recording artist best known for competing on the tenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' (2 ...

as the runner-up. The series premiered with impressive viewing figures drawing in 1 million live viewers.

Series 4– (2022–present): BBC Three

Danny Beard at Isle of Wight Pride (cropped)

On 27 October 2021, it was announced via the show's official

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

page that casting for Series 4 was now open. The deadline and casting close date was 10 November 2021. ''

Sex Education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...

'' star

was the first celebrity guest judge revealed to appear on the fourth series. Waddingham revealed she would be featured as a guest judge on the show during an episode of ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...

'' which RuPaul was the celebrity guest host. Waddingham disclosed; "I'm a guest judge on ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK''. I mean, I was giddy as all hell about that. Michelle isagewill tell you, I was like: 'Can't believe I'm here'". Judge

revealed in an interview with ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ commu ...

'' that the competitors that appeared on the fourth series were "some of the best queens we’ve ever seen". Norton said because the series was a post-

season, the queens had a lot more freedom. Norton said, "It was very hard for the eason threequeens in COVID because they weren’t making any money and lots of the dressmakers had stopped working. I think it was really hard during COVID, so this is definitely a post-COVID season and it's great. You can look forward to it. You don’t need to worry!" BBC's chief executive's confirmed that the fourth season will be part of the autumn schedule, likely to begin airing in September.

was revealed to be a guest judge on the series.

and

Tess Daly Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly (born 29 March 1969) is an English model and television presenter who co-presented the BBC One celebrity dancing show ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2004 to 2013; she has been the show's main presenter since 2014. ...

were also confirmed to be making a cameo appearance. On 30 August 2022, BBC revealed a teaser of the show with the slogan "Bring it to the RUNW4Y". The following day, BBC confirmed the celebrity guest judges for the season would include: Dame Joanna Lumley,

, Leomie Anderson,

and Hammond would in fact feature as a celebrity guest judge and not feature as a cameo appearance.

Giovanni Pernice Giovanni Pernice (born 5 September 1990) is an Italian professional dancer based in the United Kingdom, best known for his appearances on the British television show '' Strictly Come Dancing''. He is also an Italian Open Latin Dance Champion (201 ...

was announced as the shows resident choreographer for the season.

Aisling Bea Aisling Clíodhnadh O'Sullivan (born 16 March 1984), known professionally as Aisling Bea ( ), is an Irish comedian, actor and writer. She created, wrote and starred in the comedy series '' This Way Up'' on Channel 4. As a stand-up comedian, she ...

will also make a cameo appearance during the comedy challenge. Lumley stated: "It thrills me to be a part of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK''. The show is astounding at every level, and I loved it from the very start. RuPaul is the definition of what it is to be fabulous, and the show is packed with mad creativity, humour, and drop-dead glamour." Whereas Boy George stated: "''Drag Race'' is such a phenomena and it has unleashed intense creativity and debate. RuPaul has made the concept of drag into a household name! I’m part of the drag daisy chain. Every nice drag queen is my sister and the rest are second cousins! It was a lot of fun being part of the show." It was later revealed that Daly and

AJ Odudu Onatejiro "AJ" Odudu (born 12 February 1988) is a British television presenter from Blackburn, UK. She is best known for co-presenting the 2013 Channel 5 reality show spin-off ''Big Brother's Bit on the Side'', alongside Emma Willis and Rylan ...

would feature during the

episode. The BBC subsequently revealed the premiere date for fourth series would be 22 September 2022. By September 2022, ''Drag Race UK'' has recorded 51 million stream requests in the United Kingdom, becoming one of the network's most successful shows. On 2 September 2022, BBC announced the renewal of the show for a fifth series and casting was open, and would remain open for two weeks until 16 September. The competitors for the fourth series were revealed on 7 September 2022 on social media. The cast also featured

Dakota Schiffer Astrid Basson (born 21 December 1999), professionally known as Dakota Schiffer, is an English Drag (clothing), drag performer who competed on the RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 4), fourth series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK''. Early life and educati ...

, the first openly

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

contestant to compete in the British version of the show. RuPaul was absent during the seventh episode of the fourth series, therefore Visage took place as main judge and host, whilst Raven took Visage's spot on the judging panel. It subsequently made it the first episode RuPaul had missed from across all the '' Drag Race universe'' hosted by RuPaul himself. Coincidentally, it made Raven the first former ''Drag Race'' contestant to judge on a RuPaul fronted franchise. On 23 September 2022, the BBC reported that Series 2 contestant,

Cherry Valentine George Ward (30 November 1993 – 18 September 2022), better known by the stage name Cherry Valentine, was an English drag queen and mental health nurse who is best known for competing in the second series of the television show ''RuPaul's Dr ...

, had died at the age of 28. Cherry Valentine's family released the following statement: "It is with the most heart wrenching and deepest sadness to inform you that our George – Cherry Valentine – has tragically passed away. This will come as a profound shock to most people & we understand there is no easy way for this to be announced. As his family, we are still processing his death and our lives will never be the same. We understand how much he is loved and how many lives he has inspired and touched. All we ask is for your patience and your prayers in this time. We love you Georgie 30 November 1993 – 18 September 2022." Subsequently, the second episode from Series 4 was dedicated to Cherry Valentine in their memory on 29 September 2022. Cheddar Gorgeous,

Danny Beard Danny Beard is the stage name of Daniel Curtis (born 27 May 1992), a British drag performer and singer, who appeared on ''Britain's Got Talent'' and '' Karaoke Club: Drag Edition'' and won the fourth series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK''. Biogra ...

, Black Peppa and Jonbers Blonde made it to the finale on 24 November 2022, with Danny Beard winning the competition.

Contestants

There has been a total of 45 contestants featured in four series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' so far with

and

being crowned UK's Next Drag Superstar.

''RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World''

On 21 December 2021, World of Wonder announced that a spin-off series '' RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World'' would premiere on 1 February 2022, with the

...
announcing that the series would coincide with the relaunch of

as a

. The series will feature queens from the first three series of the show, along with international queens who have competed in the ''

'' franchise around the world. The winner of the first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World'' was

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

's Blu Hydrangea, with

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as the runner-up.

Discography

International broadcasts

The first series was broadcast on the

Logo TV Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...

network in the US, on

OutTV OutTV (stylized OUTtv) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language specialty channel that was launched in September 2001. It broadcasts general entertainment and lifestyle programming aimed at the LGBT community. The network is owned b ...

and Crave in Canada, on

Vitaya VTM 3 is a Flemish television station. The station got its license for 9 years in 1999 and it started to broadcast on 25 August 2000. VTM3 can be seen on Flemish cable and satellite services. The station is part of DPG Media (formerly Medialaan, ...

in Belgium, on

DR TV DR TV is an internet streaming catch-up television service for people in Denmark, made by Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers, and smar ...

in Denmark, on Stan in Australia, on

Yes Drama Yes Drama (styled as yes Drama and formerly called ''yes stars Drama'') is an Israeli television channel carried by the Israeli satellite television provider ''yes'', which broadcasts American, British, Canadian and Israeli TV shows of the dram ...

in Israel and on

Star+ A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

in Brazil, While the second series was broadcast on Real Time in Italy, under the name "Drag Race UK".

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{Portal bar, LGBT, Television, United Kingdom 2010s British LGBT-related television series 2010s British reality television series 2010s LGBT-related reality television series 2019 British television series debuts 2020s British LGBT-related television series 2020s British reality television series 2020s LGBT-related reality television series BBC Television shows British television series based on American television series British LGBT-related web series Television series by World of Wonder (company) Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Transgender-related television shows WOW Presents Plus original programming British non-fiction web series