The American smash hit series, which first hit American screens all the way back in 2009, is back for its second British season. Drag Race UK, which debuted last autumn, saw queen The Vivienne take the crown. To start the year off on an unbeatable high, its been announced that Season 2 will debut on January 14th, with 12 new queens battling it out for the crown.
There’s no denying the fan’s loyalty to Ru Paul’s phenomenon that is Drag Race and Drag Race UK is unbreakable. A record-breaking, 15.6 million viewers requests on BBC iPlayer for season one, cemented its popularity and said, Shante, you stay season 2.
The first two episodes will return to iPlayer on Thursday, January 14 at 7 pm, with each new episode being released every week. The judging panel, which we have come to know and love will thankfully, remain the same. Ru Paul, Michelle Visage, Alan Carr, and Graham Norton will once again grace our screens.
Alongside those familiar faces, a sneak peek of some of the guest judges was announced through a series of tweets. The judges include singer MNEK, TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, actress Sheridan Smith, Jourdan Dunn and, actress Liz Hurley.
The most anticipated element of any Drag Race reveal is, of course, the queens themselves.
The show includes the first-ever Welsh contestant, Tayce, who says she’s competing in the show for her friends, family, and Wales – as well as Gavin and Stacey. Her dad was the bass drummer for the Wham, and Tayce hopes to follow in her dad’s footsteps with her musical aspirations. In true Welsh fashion, she hopes to be the next Tom Jones or Shirley Bassey.
Joining the show also is 21 year old, Scottish queen, Ellie Diamond, one of the tallest queens the series has seen, standing at 6ft 4 without heels, and a whopping 6ft 8 with her heels, wigs, and extravagant costumes. She says: “By day I fund my drag through my work at a drive-through fast-food place, but believe me, my uniform is customised and I sashay to that counter! I would love to be dressed like this 24/7.”
This year sees a nonbinary queen, Ginny Lemon join the competition. Ginny’s face may be familiar to some pop fans after her appearance on X Factor back in 2017. Ginny got as far as the six chair challenge before being eliminated. Speaking about her excitement for her Drag Race debut, Ginny said, “I’m the hairiest woman in show-business! I’m the only non-binary drag queen in the UK…with a sense of humor!”
Fellow queen, Tia Kofi, 30, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Clapham,” also keeps the X Factor theme running. She is one-third of the drag queen band The Vixens who auditioned back in 2016. Unfortunately, the group did not make it any further.
The TV motif is alive and kicking this series – Veronica Green has a background in musical theatre and performing too. She even competed on the BBC series All Together Now and scored a very commendable 77 seats out of 100.
Other queens who you can get hyped to see perform include Bimini Bon Boulash, Sister Sister, Veronica Green, Asttina Mandella and A’Whora.
For the first time ever, the UK series will coincide with the US version, which is currently on its 13th series. Series 13 of Drag Race will premiere on New Year’s Day 2021, at 8/7C on VH1.
Unfortunately, there isn’t currently any sign of a Netflix release date for UK fans.
If you’re looking for something to watch on Netflix until you can get your Drag Race fix, check out this.
