COVER DESIGN BY ANISA CLEAVER
SPECIAL THANKS TO JASMINE ALOMA AT THE BBC

Fifty-one million. No, that’s not the amount of queens that have been crowned in the franchise this year (pretty close, though), it is – according to official stats from the BBC – the total streams for the first three seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Let’s repeat that for dramatic effect, in bold and italicised: 51 million. While Broom once claimed that drag will “never be mainstream,” the host’s search for Britain’s Next Drag Superstar has been a monumental global success and blessed viewers with some of the most unforgettable slash unhinged moments in television herstory; from the BAFTA-nominated stylings of UK Hun? to Victoria Scone entering the werkroom as Drag Race’s first-ever cis female competitor and Ru’s (confusing but highly entertaining) takedown of H&M.

On Thursday (22 September), the search continues with one of the most varied casts of all time, including the UK series’ first trans woman and first (in all of the English-language iterations) bearded lady. With guest stars including Dame Joanna Lumley, Hannah Waddingham, Alison Hammond, Mel B, Boy George, Lorraine Pascale, Leomie Anderson, Olly Alexander, FKA Twigs – deep breath for even more star power – Tess Daly, AJ Odudu, Giovanni Pernice, Aisling Bea and Cathy Dennis, the fourth season of Drag Race UK promises to be a game-changer for RuPaul’s empire. As one queen puts it, “Some of these twists and turns will blindside you.” 

Accompanied by new shots of their promo looks exclusive to GAY TIMES, read ahead for our digital cover story with the 12 new contenders for the Drag Race UK crown: Baby, Black Peppa, Cheddar Gorgeous, Copper Topp, Dakota Schiffer, Danny Beard, Jonbers Blonde, Just May, Le Fil, Pixie Polite, Sminty Drop and Starlet.

Baby

Age: 25

From: London

“My Drag Race experience was a mad ‘ting,” laughs Baby. The choreo queen of season four, London’s self-proclaimed “Afro Punk Princess” says the world “isn’t ready” for how hard she’ll turn it in the lip-sync smackdowns. Flips, kicks, splits and all of those other dancefloor tricks, you name it: Baby can do it. “I’m not trying to be in the bottom like that,” she says, “but if it happens, just know you’re in for a show!” Baby credits All Stars 5 and 7 alum Shea Couleé as the “reason” why she started drag, saying she “identified” with her intersecting identities as a Black and queer entertainer on TV. “Their perception of drag also opened my mind to the different ways you can go about doing Drag Race.” Admitting that she wears her heart on her sleeve, Baby’s drag persona is “led by passion and what inspires” her such as art and pop culture. As a Drag Race superfan, the 25-year-old didn’t “actively study” the competition element of the series because the challenges – and what RuPaul looks for in [insert country here]’s Next Drag Superstar – is already “ingrained” in her. (Don’t fret, a Sasha Belle, she is not.) (We love you Sasha.) 

“I didn’t feel like I needed to sit down and prepare for it,” she explains, “I know how this runs!” Baby knew “99%” of her season four competitors prior to sashaying into the werkroom, but didn’t suss out anyone in particular as her “biggest” competition. It’s not cockiness, however, as she clarifies: “We’re all so different. I didn’t feel the pressure of, ‘I need to beat you specifically,’ because we have our own things that we offer, and we all thrive in our own way.” With her NDA in mind – “I’m not spilling the beans, I am not incriminating myself!” – Baby is hesitant to ruveal too much re season four, although she teases some major “gags” and “surprises” which is, honestly, very surprising for us to hear at this moment in time. Twists? On Drag Race? Like, gasp. What she can say is: “The fashion this season is gonna gag people. Even the girls that aren’t fashion girls really brought looks with them. The fans… are gonna gag.”

Black Peppa

Age: 29

From: Birmingham

Ranking the drama slash conflama and twists slash turns of season four at “97” (on a scale of 1-Club 96, so pretty severe), Black Peppa is a competitive queen who “dissected” the ins-and-outs of the show before she stomped into the werkroom. If you get ready, you ain’t gotta – WHAT?! – YOU KNOW WHAT’S COMIN’ – stay ready. “You know what you sign up for,” she tells GAY TIMES. “You’re going to get certain challenges thrown at you, and you need to be ready.” So was she, y’know, ready? “No! There’s nothing that can prepare you for the show, nothing!” she stresses. “Mama Ru can throw curveballs at you at any given second.” Describing season four as an “out-of-body experience” and a “load of bollocks” (“Nah, it wasn’t a load of bollocks, it was amazing” she reassures), the Caribbean-born, Birmingham-based entertainer says her number-one skill is “conceptualising a look” thanks to all of the fashion references “in this tiny head of mine”. “I’m not the best at sewing, but I can create stuff,” she continues further. “Just like they said on Canada’s Drag Race, the hot glue brigade!”