SPECIAL THANKS TO IMOGEN REID AND AOIFE KILBANE AT THE BBC

A mere six months after she was forced to withdraw from the series due to COVID, Veronica Green sashayed back into the werkroom for RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season three last month – making herstory in the process as the first British queen to appear on two seasons. Although she ruturned to the competition with the most revered reputation amongst her fellow queens, thanks to her maxi-challenge-winning stint the first time around, Veronica stumbled in this week’s episode and was booted out of the competition by powerhouse performer Vanity Milan. Don’t get it twisted – that ‘powerhouse’ bit applies to Veronica too, as the Lancashire-born competitor put up a hell of a fight in the epic showdown, which she thinks could’ve gone “either way”.

“It really was a battle to the death,” Veronica tells GAY TIMES. “I knew that Vanity was an amazing lip syncer. So I had to pull out all of the stops that I possibly could and I gave it a really good fight. I got every single word right, I got every single beat right, I played for emotion, I played for story.” Despite leaving much sooner than she, or fans, anticipated, Veronica says she felt free from all of the ‘stress, anxiety and pressure’ that comes with being on Drag Race, as well as expectations from viewers leading up to her much-discussed return. “When I was told to sashay away, that should have been a failure, but it didn’t feel that way. It just felt like all of this weight was gone,” she says.

Here, we speak with Veronica about her short-lived return on the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, why she went into “autopilot” after her elimination and whether she’s advised Victoria Scone on this next phase of her post-show career. As per, we also find out the character Veronica planned to impersonate on the franchise’s staple maxi-challenge, Snatch Game.

Veronica, my darling!
You again!

Me again! I’m devastated over your elimination. How did it feel when RuPaul told you to sashay away?
I think my soul left my body, and I went into autopilot. I just did what I had to do to keep my composure. I was crumbling, I managed to get offstage and then I pretty much just… They sat me in this chair and I just disappeared. I must have been bawling for about half an hour. They had to usher all the other queens in the opposite direction. I think a part of me left my body for a little while. I don’t remember what happened, I just remember being sat in this room with one of my chaperones. Then I was just like, ‘I don’t want to talk to anybody, I just want to be here with myself, and go through these feelings. I know that these feelings are temporary and it’s just trauma. It’s just trauma making its way out of my body.’ I’ve been through a lot this last year, it was this release of stress, release of anxiety, release of pressure and expectation. Before I knew it a couple of hours later, I just felt at peace all of a sudden and everything was still and everything was calm. I’m getting a bit emotional just thinking about it. Everything just felt good again all of a sudden. Then I realised just how much pressure I was putting on myself to succeed and do well. Going back a second time – I’ve got the tissues ready! – I knew there was this huge expectation on me, people automatically think I’ve had a whole year to glow up and people forget last season was six months ago. How would you film two seasons in 18 months, get them both on air in six months apart? People forget, people think, ‘She’s had all this time.’ I was nearly bankrupt, I had nothing. I’ve got a very, very few select friends that helped me out during this tough time and I just had this massive weight on my shoulders of not failing. When I was told to sashay away, that should have been a failure, but it didn’t feel that way. It just felt like all of this weight was gone. It took a couple of hours for it to leave my body but by the time I got back to my hotel room in the evening I was just like, ‘Wow, I feel really free.’

Veronica, you should be motherfucking proud of what you’ve delivered over this past year. As well as giving us amazing runways, you became the first queen to appear on two seasons of Drag Race UK. Not only that, you put up a hell of a fight in that lip-sync – even in that outfit! Talk me through that, because that was a showdown.
It really was a battle to the death. I knew that Vanity was an amazing lip syncer. So I had to pull out all of the stops that I possibly could and I gave it a really good fight. I got every single word right, I got every single beat right, I played for emotion, I played for story. The only thing going against me was the restriction of the gown. There was a point in the lip-sync where I tried to hitch the skirt but because it was so form fitted to my body, it wouldn’t hitch up so I was like, ‘Well that’s my plan dead of being able to move properly.’ I then had to think of my plan B on the fly, then the whole tearing the costume apart was my interpretation of ‘I’ve got the music in me’ and I want to set it free. That’s where tearing all the bits and pieces came from. I loved doing the lip-sync with Vanity, I feel like it was very very close. It could have really gone either way. She got quite a lot of words wrong, but she had so much soul and so much passion and I think we matched each other quite well. Ru made her decision and it was Ru’s decision to make and I hold no grudges, Vanity did an amazing job.