Drag Race UK

[Practically Perfect]

I did my first UK soggy eye when Davina won. Cheryl is annoying me, copying Alyysa's tongue click/snap - STOP IT.

I agree with The Vivienne about the sewing thing but its the same as the Apprentice - no one ever blinking learns.

 

[SavetheDrama]

It’s very white, I was hoping for more diversity too.

 

[Practically Perfect]

Trump was by far the best snatch game ever; even outdid Jinx Monsoon for me. (her grey gardens i still live for).

 

[thenomad]

I’m excited to see it but I am a bit disappointed at the lack of diversity in the queens (ethnically and region wise). I would have also loved some Scottish drag queens for this season as well. But it is early days.

I haven’t enjoyed the US counterpart for the past few seasons, so I hope the UK version does well. I can’t wait!

 

[StephenTJackson]

I must admit, I’d never seen an episode of Drag Race before, and I’ll be totally honest, I’ve never really had much interest in the show and scene. But I thought I’d give the series a try, and I’m kinda obsessed.

Although, Ru Paul seems kinda awkward trying to make British related jokes, I don’t know whether that it just how Ru is.

But I adore Blu Hydrangea, the subtle savage comments, even to Ru Paul, and just being amazing. I love Blu so much and is underrated I think, Blu will go far.

 

[Practically Perfect]

Viv's dress tho

When Ru was asking why they should win, i SO wanted Viv to just say "China"

Loved the series - will deffo be here for All Stars.

Am gonna go and watch last year's Xmas special on Netflix so i can watch Shangela doing " I dont want a Sugar Cookie, i never wanted a sugar cookie, if i wanted a sugar cookie i could probably go out and make one because i am What? FESTIVE"

 

[Lars Guinard]

Vivienne was superb as Trump and it was nice to see a different silhouette on the runway, away from the ‘safe’ jumpsuits/hoods.
Baga is still growing on me, she was really good as Mrs.Thatcher but I wanted something more on the runway.
Divina is definitely gaining confidence on the show and it’s good she found she ought to be more assertive.
Cheryl needs to step up...I can see Blu is outshining ‘established’ queens.

 

[hrh89]

I don't mind Blu and I'm happy to see he's slowly gaining more confidence as time goes by. However, his humor I don't find it to be as clever or quick-witted as some of the other drag queens (poor Mary Berry though lol). For example, The Vivienne's Donald Trump was really well done and smart. One of the best Snatch performances that I've seen in a long time. I still don't have a favorite but I do love a good underdog winner so I have few that I hope will really step it up in the upcoming episodes otherwise it's obvious who the winner is going to be at this rate.

I'm sad to see the two POC are already out but honestly they were not bringing their A-game. I am hoping for season two that there will be more diversity amongst the queens. I also love the smaller cast compared to the American counterpart, as you get to know each individual and their personality much better. I thought it was cute that Geri gave Sum Ting Wong a hug as he was leaving; that was really sweet.

sum ting seemed the nicest person ever so sweet and lovely. Shame he went but he wasn’t as good as the others. Liked him as a person but it was clear he was leaving after snatch game.
Agree about Blu shes not as quick as Vivienne or Baga so she kind of gets pushed to the back a bit. I did absolutely love her runway look with the eye I thought it was fantastic!!

 

[Fomohomo]

yeah Viv was amazing, felt bad for Divina I know it shows what a kind queen she is but she should have stuck to her guns

 

[thenomad]

I wish Baga just owned up this was a difficult challenge without also pointing out his mum’s flaws the ENTIRE time. I’m sure he’s getting a lot of flack on social media already and again we don’t know the full story of their obviously complicated relationship...

I think the producers wanted him to be vulnerable and he never really got there like other queens have. I don’t think we have seen that side of Baga yet. He hides a lot behind his humor. And true, he doesn’t owe us anything but I just didn’t care for how he handled the challenge and treating his mum. Several people tried to give Baga a lifeline (Alan Carr, Vivienne, and Divina) and it still didn’t come across well for him. You could tell when they were backstage the looks on the other queens faces were of discomfort when Baga keep ragging on his mum.

 

[Lars Guinard]

I’m excited to see it but I am a bit disappointed at the lack of diversity in the queens (ethnically and region wise). I would have also loved some Scottish drag queens for this season as well. But it is early days.

I haven’t enjoyed the US counterpart for the past few seasons, so I hope the UK version does well. I can’t wait!

Agree! I have not enjoyed the past couple of DRUS seasons. As you say early days, most of the queens seem to be London based. Hopefully the show will be popular and we see more diversity.
I am rooting for Blu...but love most of the DRUK queens! Who is your favourite?

 

[thenomad]

Grazia UK Interview with the top three queens!

Sidenote: I can't believe the final episode is this week. I'm not ready for it to end.

 

[hrh89]

I watched the first two eps again and I’ve had a complete change of heart and Baga is now my favourite dunno why I didn’t warm to her to start with but she’s bloody hilarious.

I’ve got to say where on earth did they find gothy Kendoll??? She’s so awkward to watch she definitely was not ready for this kind of show.

 

[thenomad]

Cheryl meeting Cheryl was a non event...Geri and Sum Ting Wong was more emotional!
Michelle and Cheryl disagreeing was funny to watch. I think some of the British humour does not translate/is lost on Ru and Michelle.
Good on Vivienne for being clean for 2 years and talking about addiction.
I look forward to the make over episode.
Vivienne, Divina and Baga final?

You would think with the preview from episode five that Cheryl meeting Cheryl would have been more epic then what it turned out to be... She was so useless as a judge. Probably my least fave judge to date? Also, I'm kinda over the death drops from Cheryl.

I think this season has covered a lot of issues for the LGBTQ+ community and particularly in the UK. Blu talking about discrimination in Northern Ireland, Divina growing up during Section 28, and Viv talking about how easily one can go down a slippery slope in the drag scene culture where the pressure to chase that high is very prevalent. It adds a layer to the show that makes it more genuine and heartfelt.

Spoiler: Sashay Away!

I was sad to see Blu go because he was starting to grow on me and very endearing. I loved his snarky comeback to Cheryl Hole when Cheryl said she would visit Blu in Belfast ("if we'll book you"). Blu definitely grew a lot and I'm proud of him. I do wish we would have seen Blu in next week's episode because I have no doubt he would have excelled in the makeover challenge.

I also thought the manufactured drama between Divina and Viv wasn't nearly as big of a deal as they made it out to be. I think production needed something to try to make the episode interesting but it fell flat. Of course Divina is going to kick off. A veteran who has done drag for over a decade and also does have the skills but doesn't get any of the recognition. I think if any of us were in a similar position where our skills were consistently undermined you would get upset... BUT when she kept bringing it up I was rolling my eyes.

None of the water adverts weren't that great. I didn't laugh particularly hard for any of them at all. Divina's had the most structure and made sense but it wasn't hilarious. Considering Vivienne's epic snatch game I wanted more of that wit in this advert but didn't really see it. Baga's was just crass and her usual lines didn't really hit home. Her "much betta" seemed like such a throwaway line.

@Sweetard, sorry about not including a spoiler tag. I posted late last night and totally forgot. I will do so from here on out. Apologies!

@Lars Guinard I agree with your top three. I do think the crown is really anyone's at this point and next week's episode will really tell who is favored to win it all.

 

[thenomad]

I hope to see everyone back here for season two and for All Stars if it happens. It’s been a pleasure watching this and being able to dissect and discuss with everyone here.

Overall, I’m happy with the win. I still think episode five was the best episode but this was a good finale.

Spoiler: Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent!

As I said earlier, I would be happy with a Vivienne or Divina win. Vivienne gave us humor, served us looks, and also showed us vulnerability. It’s a win that I’m happy about. I really do hope the other queens come back for an All Stars season (esp Divina, Baga, Cheryl Hole, and Blu). Season two has some big shoes to fill to try top season one imo.

Did anyone think it was weird to do ballroom dancing choreo with Rupaul’s Rock It (To The Moon) song? AJ’s job was to teach them a choreography that would go with the song. Not to show off his skills and then teaching them difficult ballroom dances while getting exasperated they weren’t picking it up quickly. Also, very weird to see Curtis from the recent Love Island on there. I was kinda expecting him to give everyone coffee lol.

I’m glad they cleared up Mum-gate with Baga on the podcast considering how awful last week looked for him. It makes a lot of sense the type of relationship he and his mother have considering he was raised mainly by his grandmother. Even though Baga laughs it off and obviously his nan loves him a lot; that kind of rejection goes deep.

My only one complaint this episode is that I wish they didn’t give Divina such an obvious downgrade edit to make Viv’s win more palatable. The Vivienne is talented on her own merits; that edit was so unnecessary. When they showed Divina making that face after Vivienne “why I should win” speech I knew Divina would be runner-up. Also, during the lip sync they kept panning to Vivienne way more than Divina. They both did great in the final lip sync imo.

Also, Michelle’s comment with Divina having questionable runway looks? I would have loved to hear Michelle elaborate on that considering all season she’s been loving Divina’s looks (maybe not her makeup which I agree with) so that comment came out of nowhere. The only runway look that was a miss was last week’s challenge— the white dress was not cute. But Divina won that challenge so..

Another comment that maybe me pause was when Michelle and Ru made it seem like Divina has always been super confident from the get go. Did they watch a different season? If anything it’s The Vivienne who has always been super confident from the beginning and only faltered in the girl group challenge, whereas Divina became more confident throughout the season once she found her stride. It was her coming to terms and not being so hard on herself. Especially considering as both Graham and Divina pointed out, it’s not the British way to be boastful.

Also, thank you Graham for clapping back at Michelle with the “as someone who lives here” comment. Michelle is a huge Anglophile yet a lot of jokes went over her head this season and her arrogance of always having the final word was getting old. I was waiting for someone to put her in her place all season long.

Overall, I still think Divina did the final challenge best but Vivienne had the best runway look— she was stunning and dare I say it, she looked better than Ru tonight. The lip sync was a tie imo. I’m really happy with the win, even if I did like Divina a bit more (her genuine kindness was a quality I really loved seeing on the show and also hearing about from the other queens via sm). But I always knew Vivienne was going to win. She might have had one hiccup along the way but she’s been strong and most consistent. Her looks were also more polished and being an ambassador didn’t hurt her chances. Bravo to The Vivienne. Well deserved.

I guess Trump and Thatcher will be back from that preview we saw at the end. No quid pro quo!

 

[thenomad]

Does anyone else think the snatch game thing with both Baga and divina bringing Maggie thatcher was just scripted for the show? The way it played out seemed so unrealistic. I don’t think divina was ever intending on doing Maggie I reckon it was just for a bit of drama.

I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch Divina would do Maggie. Especially after Thursday’s episode when she mentioned growing up under Section 28. There’s this on Twitter that was shared as well. I doubt she would have won the snatch game either way. The Vivienne’s Trump was too good. Everyone brought several options for the snatch game except for Baga from what I recall? So there was no way Baga would or could have done someone else.

I also don’t think in the girl group challenge it should have been a three way win. That should have been Divina’s win imo. She came up with the choreography, her vocals were the strongest in the song (different ranges and variety), and it seems the judges really loved her outfit. Don’t get me wrong Baga and Blu did well too but Divina is why they secured that win for that challenge— which Baga even acknowledged in the episode.

I also really enjoyed Jade Thirlwall as the guest judge. She gave good constructive criticism and compliments without talking about wanting to bang the drag queens, etc. A lot of the previous guest judges didn’t bring anything substantive so it was nice episode five was solid from start to finish.

I know The Vivienne is all around a strong competitor but there is something that keeps me from really warming up to her or finding her endearing compared to some of the other queens (I felt like this with previous drag winners like Aquaria for example). Even when she was vulnerable and on the possibility of elimination that convo circled back to her instead of empathizing with Crystal who was also in the same position.

 

[hrh89]

Anyone else got break up (bye bye) constantly stuck in their head now

“CATEGORY ESSEX: THEY CALL ME CHERYL HOLE”

 

[Lars Guinard]

Cheryl meeting Cheryl was a non event...Geri and Sum Ting Wong was more emotional!
Michelle and Cheryl disagreeing was funny to watch. I think some of the British humour does not translate/is lost on Ru and Michelle.
Good on Vivienne for being clean for 2 years and talking about addiction.
I look forward to the make over episode.
Vivienne, Divina and Baga final?

 

[thenomad]

Wow another emotional episode. Much betta than last week’s episode for sure. I’m going to be really sad when this is all over.

Spoiler: Sashay Away!

Phew. Baga, Baga, Baga... I get we don’t know the full story but it was obvious Baga and his mum weren’t close. I know he was trying to shield her but it didn’t help he kept throwing her under the bus. It was like watching a really bad car wreck unfold slowly and painfully. “Woman of a certain age”, “her tum”, “she’s so shy!”. I get his mother was incredibly shy but it would have been a perfect opportunity to really showcase and let his mother be a star for this challenge. He was putting her down from the beginning and it really didn’t help her to come out of her shell; when she was already so nervous being on the show to begin with. I do like Baga but tonight’s episode was really hard to watch. I know he wasn’t coming from a bad place but he just handled that so poorly. It wasn’t her fault that after 10 years he still doesn’t know how to do makeup on other people. So it was a weak spot of his, I would rather he owned up to it then immediately blaming his mum. His poor mum. I will say he came up with the best name Sacka Spuds.

I noticed that Cheryl, Vivienne, and Baga all gave themselves the better outfit and hair— which I get they probably had that prepared in advanced, whereas Divina really let his sister shine and made the challenge about her (and her drag baby!). That was a really nice touch on her part. But if I’m being honest I didn’t really like any of the outfits and maybe mine is an unpopular opinion but I didn’t love what Vivienne’s mum wore and what Alan Carr said about his mum’s hair was . To me it wasn’t a top look but it was slightly stronger than Cheryl or Baga’s, in that Vivienne looked stunning. But Cheryl executed the makeover challenge better imo. Also, she did a more challenging choreo with Sissy Hole and gave it her all instead of playing safe. I can appreciate that since she probably knew her time was up.

Also, Divina’s sister is gorgeous!!! I can’t believe Divina is one of seven kids. The relationship Vivienne had with his mother and Divina had with his sister was truly adorable. When Cheryl’s sister walked out, I was thinking exactly what Vivienne was thinking. It’s the female version of Cheryl! And the Essex really jumped out with his sister’s outfit, makeup, and nails. These three really had great camaraderie with their family and it was great seeing more of their personality come out and being relaxed. With the exception of Baga roasting his mum over and over, I loved this challenge.

I have to say that Amy Winehouse song really was just giving Baga the lip-sync win. It wasn’t subtle at all. That song was made for Baga. Cheryl probably felt like Blu from last week’s episode. I will say I love that those two held hands and hugged while lip syncing. The friendship amongst all these gals is really cute.

Cheryl wasn’t really on my radar until towards the end of this season. It took awhile but she gave us some great lines (medic!), humor, and was very unapologetically Essex. I will say it was sad to see her go.


It was really kind of Vivienne making Baga apologize to his mum and Divina saying how proud she was of Baga’s mum. That was really great sportsmanship and kindness on both their parts, as well as knowing how to read the situation when someone is feeling overwhelmed and out of place.

I would have loved to see Blu in this challenge. The look he had prepared was well done.

 

[Sweetard]

I think The Vivienne will win as she reminds me of the US Queens. Very beautiful & elegant and highly creative with her costumes. Incredible impersonator. Charismatic. I love Divina Di Campo as a representative of U.K. Queens. She’s an absolute professional, highly talented in all areas of entertainment (singing, lipsynching, dancing, acting). She’s honed her craft. Her ‘look’ is less beautiful & more traditional drag if you get my drift. Not better or worse than The Vivienne but markedly different. I have loved Bagga from day 1. She’s more pantomime dame than the other 2 and I love her for it. She’s so funny! I’ll be happy for whoever wins.