SPECIAL THANKS TO IMOGEN REID AND JASMINE ALOMA AT THE BBC

“I didn’t know that Pangina [Heals] would be the next Manila [Luzon]. I love that!” laughs Blu Hydrangea. The Northern Irish talent is fully aware that she’ll ignite more backlash with her comments, but she’s sticking to her mothertucking guns and giving us drama, honey. “People are sending me hate and I’m like, ‘Ooh, send me more hate. I love it!’ The attention is great.” In the fourth episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs the World, Blu generated an enormous amount of controversy online when she chose to chop Pangina, the frontrunner for the crown (at the time), from the competition; sparking a debate in the process about “All Star rules” and whether they should, like the Drag Race Thailand co-host, sashay away from the series.

“Pangina, I think the pressure of Thailand and her culture was on her shoulders and it just broke her. I didn’t expect it, that’s why my lip was quivering,” Blu tells GAY TIMES. “Someone said that was a sign of a panic attack, but I’ve never had a panic attack before so I don’t know. I think it was more that I was just upset seeing my friend upset. It wasn’t like I made a malicious decision, I just made a decision that was part of the competition and I didn’t expect it to affect her in such a visceral way.”

Although her lipstick decision continues to be met with uproar online, Blu has received widespread praise this season for her elevated runways and comedy – particularly for her ridiculously entertainting impersonation of Mike Myers’ signature character Austin Powers (and Dr Evil) on the Snatch Game. And, in similar vein to Bimini and Ginny Lemon’s discussion about their non-binary identities on UK season two, Blu’s heartfelt conversation about her gender continued to provide visibility for non-binary and trans viewers at home, with one fan saying the queen is “the non-binary icon I wish I had growing up.”

With the Drag Race UK vs the World finale looming, we caught up with Blu to chat about her decision to cut Pangina, coming out as non-binary and sashaying back into the werkroom as a new and improved Hydrangea.

Blu, this outfit is stunning.

Thank you so much! I thought I’d put on something casual just for GAY TIMES. It’s my syphilis realness. It’s my haemorrhoid moment.

How are you feeling ahead of the final?

I’m great, I’m bloody knackered though. They flipping put you through it at the BBC, they’re really trying to make some magic happen here. Good for them.

I wanna start off with your Snatch Game, which was incredible. What did Mike Myers say when he DM’d you?

He didn’t! I was raging because he probably needs the press these days, I haven’t seen him in anything for a long time. No, I’m just kidding.

How dare he.

That’s the second Snatch Game that I’ve done where I haven’t had a message from a celebrity.