HEADER BY YOSEF PHELAN
SPECIAL THANKS TO JASMINE ALOMA AT THE BBC

With Vicki Vivacious’ Drag Race UK elimination, we can now – in her words – “squash any rumour that the look is 50% of the mark”. While the Cornish queen was unsuccessful in her mission to make RuPaul cackle in the Snatch Game as the late restaurant critic Fanny Cradock – Vicki herself describes the performance as “heartbreaking” – she left the judging panel floored with her Alice in Wonderland-inspired ‘Heart-On’. RuPaul even hailed it as “perfection”. Viewers felt the same, expressing on social media that the runway should’ve saved her from a dreaded bottom two placement. 

“If you’re gonna leave, leave looking amazing right?” Vicki tells GAY TIMES the morning after her exit, before admitting that she saw her fate coming as soon as the lip-sync with DeDeLicious to Alexandra Burke’s non-single ‘Heartbreak on Hold’ started. “That wasn’t me giving up, at all. I just knew that DeDe is so talented in that department,” says the pasty ambassador. “I thought, ‘I’m already on the back foot.’ I always knew that, going onto Drag Race, if I was in a lip-sync, I’d be going home.”

In this interview, Vicki Vivacious reflects on her final episode and what it’s like to play the Snatch Game, as well as her equally chaotic backup character. Of course, we had to ask the star about Untucked and her conflict with Banksie. Here’s a teaser: “They can dress up in a lamb’s knitted outfit for their cameos and that’s cute: good for you, sis. I’m not here for it, I’m too old for that drama.” Oop?

Vicki what was it like, watching last night’s episode unfold?

It was really hard. I don’t think any queen wants to see themselves walk out, but I think it’s safe to say that we can now squash any rumour that the look is 50% of the mark, because it clearly isn’t babes.

Hmm. There are some Drag Race franchises where the runway plays a major part in how the queens are “marked”, but it seems like it had no impact on whether you stayed or not. How do you feel about that?

It’s difficult when you put so much love into those runways. Looking back on it, I maybe put too much love and expectation on people’s reactions to my runways. Your drag is so personal, so you take even more offence if someone doesn’t like it online or if your drag isn’t perceived how you think it should be. Well, I was called “perfection” by Ru. What else can you say? I loved every second of it, but it was really hard to watch me leave looking [like that]. Also, if you’re gonna leave, leave looking amazing right?

Snatch Game is the challenge. Did you ever think it would be the one to send you home?

No. I thought that would be the one I would exceed in the most. I got into my own head. I kept to what I thought I needed to do, and the plan that I had, that I wasn’t able to let loose and relax. Even now I’m still going, ‘I think I need to say this and do that.’ I need to chill out, don’t I? I wish I had done that on the show; chilled out a little bit more, enjoyed the process and not cared what people think. It was hard to watch, because I know I could’ve done better. But, it’s one of those shoulda-woulda-coulda [moments]. At the time, you’ve got all those cameras and you’re in front of Ru, and you’re on the set of the iconic Snatch Game, that I think I just froze.