RuPaul's Drag Race UK | |
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Series 1 | |
Hosted by | RuPaul |
Judges | |
No. of contestants | 10 |
Winner | The Vivienne |
Runner-up | Divina de Campo |
No. of episodes | 8 |
Release | |
Original network | BBC Three (UK) WOW Presents Plus (International) |
Original release | 3 October – 21 November 2019 |
Series chronology | |
The first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK began airing on 3 October 2019 on the BBC Three section of BBC iPlayer and WOW Presents Plus's WOW Presents Plus streaming service. [1] It ran for eight episodes.
The winner of first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK was The Vivienne, with Divina de Campo as the runner-up. [2] [3]
The song "Break Up (Bye Bye)", which was featured in the fifth episode, was released as a single and reached number 35 on the UK Singles Chart. [4] It also peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in the US. [5]
Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
Contestant | Age | Hometown | Outcome |
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The Vivienne | 26 | Liverpool, England | Winner |
Divina de Campo | 35 | Brighouse, England | Runner-up |
Baga Chipz | 29 | East London, England | 3rd place |
Cheryl Hole | 25 | Chelmsford, England | 4th place |
Blu Hydrangea | 23 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 5th place |
Crystal | 34 | East London, England | 6th place |
Sum Ting Wong | 30 | Birmingham, England | 7th place |
Vinegar Strokes | 34 | North London, England | 8th place |
Scaredy Kat | 19 | Cricklade, England | 9th place |
Gothy Kendoll | 21 | Leicester, England | 10th place |
Legend:
Contestant | Episode | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 [7] | 2 [8] | 3 [9] | 4 [10] | 5 [11] | 6 [12] | 7 [13] | 8 [14] | |
The Vivienne | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | BTM | WIN | SAFE | Winner |
Divina de Campo | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | WIN | Runner-up |
Baga Chipz | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | BTM | Eliminated |
Cheryl Hole | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | BTM | ELIM | Guest |
Blu Hydrangea | SAFE | BTM | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | ELIM | Guest | |
Crystal | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | BTM | ELIM | Guest | ||
Sum Ting Wong | SAFE | SAFE | BTM | ELIM | Guest | |||
Vinegar Strokes | BTM | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | ||||
Scaredy Kat | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | |||||
Gothy Kendoll | ELIM | Guest |
Legend:
Episode | Bottom contestants | Song | Eliminated | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 [15] | Gothy Kendoll | vs. | Vinegar Strokes | "New Rules" (Dua Lipa) | Gothy Kendoll |
2 [16] | Blu Hydrangea | vs. | Scaredy Kat | "Venus" (Bananarama) | Scaredy Kat |
3 [17] | Sum Ting Wong | vs. | Vinegar Strokes | "Would I Lie to You?" (Eurythmics) | Vinegar Strokes |
4 [18] | Crystal | vs. | Sum Ting Wong | "Spice Up Your Life" (Spice Girls) | Sum Ting Wong |
5 [19] | Crystal | vs. | The Vivienne | "Power" (Little Mix) | Crystal |
6 [20] | Blu Hydrangea | vs. | Cheryl Hole | "Call My Name (Wideboys Remix)" (Cheryl) | Blu Hydrangea |
7 [21] | Baga Chipz | vs. | Cheryl Hole | "Tears Dry on Their Own" (Amy Winehouse) | Cheryl Hole |
Episode | Final contestants | Song | Winner | ||
8 [22] | Divina de Campo | vs. | The Vivienne | "I'm Your Man" (Wham!) | The Vivienne |
Listed in chronological order:
Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 8
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original air date | |
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1 | 1 | "The Royal Queens" | 3 October 2019 | |
Ten queens enter the workroom. For the first mini-challenge, the queens do an "Off with Your Heads" photoshoot. Scaredy Kat wins the mini-challenge. For this week's main challenge, the queens present two looks on the runway: Queen of Your Hometown and a look inspired by Queen Elizabeth II. On the runway, Baga Chipz, Sum Ting Wong and The Vivienne receive positive critiques, with The Vivienne winning the challenge. Cheryl Hole, Gothy Kendoll and Vinegar Strokes receive negative critiques, with Cheryl Hole being safe. Gothy Kendoll and Vinegar Strokes lip-sync to "New Rules" by Dua Lipa. Vinegar Strokes wins the lip-sync and Gothy Kendoll is the first queen to sashay away.
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2 | 2 | "Downton Draggy" | 10 October 2019 | |
For this week's main challenge, the queens perform in drag film adaptions of Downton Abbey, called "Downton Draggy".
On the runway, category is Bond Girl Glamourama. Team The Vivienne is the winning team, with Baga Chipz winning the challenge. Team Scaredy Kat is the losing team. Blu Hydrangea, Cheryl Hole and Scaredy Kat receive negative critiques, with Cheryl Hole being safe. Blu Hydrangea and Scaredy Kat lip-sync to "Venus" by Bananarama. Blu Hydrangea wins the lip-sync and Scaredy Kat sashays away.
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3 | 3 | "Posh on a Penny" | 17 October 2019 | |
For this week's mini-challenge, the queens do some intriguing dance moves around a maypole. Cheryl Hole wins the mini-challenge. For the main challenge, the queens create an outfit made from junk found at a car boot sale. On the runway, Crystal, Divina De Campo and The Vivienne receive positive critiques, with Divina De Campo winning the challenge. Cheryl Hole, Sum Ting Wong and Vinegar Strokes receive negative critiques, with Cheryl Hole being safe. Sum Ting Wong and Vinegar Strokes lip-sync to "Would I Lie To You?" by Eurythmics. Sum Ting Wong wins the lip-sync and Vinegar Strokes sashays away.
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4 | 4 | "Snatch Game" | 24 October 2019 | |
For this week's main challenge, the queens play the Snatch Game. Lorraine Kelly and Stacey Dooley star as the celebrity contestants. The cast consisted of:
On the runway, category is Weird Science. Baga Chipz and The Vivienne receive positive critiques, with both queens winning the challenge. Crystal, Divina De Campo and Sum Ting Wong receive negative critiques, with Divina De Campo being safe. Crystal and Sum Ting Wong lip-sync to "Spice Up Your Life" by Spice Girls. Crystal wins the lip-sync and Sum Ting Wong sashays away.
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5 | 5 | "Girl Groups Battle Royale" | 31 October 2019 | |
For this week's mini-challenge, the queens read each other to filth. Crystal wins the mini-challenge. For the main challenge, the queens write, record, and perform verses to "Break Up (Bye Bye)".
On the runway, category is Day at the Races. Team The Frock Destroyers is the winning team, with Baga Chipz, Blu Hydrangea and Divina De Campo all winning the challenge. Team Filth Harmony is the losing team. Crystal and The Vivienne receive negative critiques, and are announced as the bottom two. They lip-sync to "Power" by Little Mix. The Vivienne wins the lip-sync and Crystal sashays away.
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6 | 6 | "Thirsty Werk" | 7 November 2019 | |
For this week's mini-challenge, the queens play a game of Boxers, Briefs or Commando with the pit crew. Divina De Campo wins the mini-challenge. For the main challenge, the queens campaign, market and design a brand of bottled water. On the runway, category is Rainy Day Eleganza. Divina De Campo and The Vivienne receive positive critiques, with The Vivienne winning the challenge. Baga Chipz, Blu Hydrangea and Cheryl Hole receive negative critiques, with Baga Chipz being safe. Blu Hydrangea and Cheryl Hole lip-sync to "Call My Name (Wideboys Remix)" by Cheryl. Cheryl Hole wins the lip-sync and Blu Hydrangea sashays away.
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7 | 7 | "Family That Drags Together" | 14 November 2019 | |
For this week's mini-challenge, the queens have a bitchfest with puppets. Divina De Campo wins the mini-challenge. For the main challenge, the queens makeover a family member. On the runway, Divina De Campo and The Vivienne receive positive critiques, with Divina De Campo winning the challenge. Baga Chipz and Cheryl Hole receive negative critiques, and are announced as the bottom two. They lip-sync to "Tears Dry on Their Own” by Amy Winehouse. Baga Chipz wins the lip-sync and Cheryl Hole sashays away.
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8 | 8 | "Grand Finale" | 21 November 2019 | |
For the final challenge of the season, the queens write, record and perform their own verse to RuPaul's song "Rock It (To The Moon)" On the runway, category is Final Three Eleganza Extravaganza. The eliminated queens all return to the runway. Baga Chipz is eliminated, leaving Divina De Campo and The Vivienne as the top two queens of the season. They lip-sync to "I'm Your Man" by Wham!. It is announced that The Vivienne is the winner, leaving Divina De Campo as the runner-up.
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The series received very positive reviews from critics, with The Guardian describing the series as having "saved RuPaul's Drag Race" as the recent seasons have had a less than positive reception. [25] In their review of the series, iNews awarded the series "five stars" and described it as a "roaring success", despite criticising its omission of a stand-up comedy challenge. [26]
In a more critical review, Vulture stated in its review of the finale that although the season "may have hit some true highs... it couldn’t save Drag Race from its worst impulses". [27]
RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV, WOW Presents Plus, VH1 and, beginning with the fifteenth season, MTV. The show documents RuPaul in the search for "America's next drag superstar". RuPaul plays the role of host, mentor, and head judge for this series, as contestants are given different challenges each week. Contestants are judged by a panel that includes RuPaul, Michelle Visage, one of three rotating judges, as well as one or more guest judges, who critique their progress throughout the competition. The title of the show is a play on drag queen and drag racing, and the title sequence and song "Drag Race" both have a drag-racing theme.
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original RuPaul's Drag Race, which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, before relocating to VH1. However, it was announced on February 20, 2020, on the show's official Twitter account that the fifth season would premiere on June 5, 2020, on Showtime. Following the cast announcement on May 8, 2020, producers announced that the show would remain airing on VH1 instead of Showtime due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused "various scheduling and programming adjustments". On February 24, 2021, Paramount+ announced via Twitter that the streaming service would be the new home to the series for the sixth season.
The third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars premiered on January 25, 2018. The season was announced in August 2017, with 9/10 of the cast revealed during a VH1 "Exclusive Queen Ruveal" special, airing on October 20, 2017. This season of All Stars featured ten "all-star" contestants, selected from the show's first season through to its then-current ninth season, competing again to be inducted into the "Drag Race Hall of Fame".
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The fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars was announced by VH1 on August 22, 2018. Prior to the official announcement, RuPaul confirmed, in an episode of his podcast What's the Tee?, that filming for the fourth season of All Stars currently was underway. All Stars Season 3 winner Trixie Mattel, with special guests Katya and Detox, hosted a special called Trixie's Playhouse to announce the cast for the fourth season. It was scheduled to air on November 8, 2018, but was postponed to the following day due to the Thousand Oaks shooting. The season began airing on December 14, 2018, and ran for ten episodes.
The twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on February 28 and concluded on May 29, 2020. The competition was broadcast on VH1 in the United States and saw 13 new queens competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". VH1 renewed both RuPaul's Drag Race and its spin-off RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars for a twelfth and fifth season respectively on August 19, 2019. At the time of the renewal the Drag Race franchise had earned VH1 a total of 14 Emmy nominations. Casting calls were opened in January 2019 while the cast was revealed by season 11 winner Yvie Oddly on January 23, 2020.
The fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars was announced by VH1 on August 19, 2019.
Leo Loren, better known by the stage name Baga Chipz, is an English drag queen known for competing on the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK (2019) and later the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (2022). Baga Chipz also appeared in the fifth series of the Channel 4 school drama series Ackley Bridge (2022).
James Lee Williams, known professionally as The Vivienne, is a British drag performer known for being appointed as the UK Drag Ambassador in 2015 for American reality television series RuPaul's Drag Race. She later competed and won the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK in 2019, and competed again in the seventh series of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars in 2022.
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The sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars premiered on June 24 and concluded on September 2, 2021. The first two episodes of the season aired on the same day. On August 20, 2020, VH1 renewed both RuPaul's Drag Race and All Stars for its thirteenth and sixth season respectively. On February 24, 2021, ViacomCBS announced the sixth season of the show would move from VH1 to Paramount+, an online streaming service. However, the season is still broadcast by the same networks abroad.
God Shave the Queens is a documentary television series about the tours following the first two series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. The show originally premiered internationally on 10 September 2020 on WOW Presents Plus internationally, and BBC iPlayer on 15 November 2020 in the United Kingdom.
The third series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK began airing on 23 September 2021.
The first season of Canada's Drag Race premiered on July 2, 2020. The cast was announced on May 14, 2020. The winner of the first season of Canada’s Drag Race was Priyanka, with Rita Baga and Scarlett BoBo as runners-up.
The second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK began airing on 14 January 2021 on the BBC Three section of BBC iPlayer and WOW Presents Plus streaming service. The series was confirmed and casting was closed on 15 November 2019. Production was suspended mid 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed late 2020. The cast of 12 new queens was announced on 16 December 2020 and the series premiered on 14 January 2021. It was also announced a special episode RuPaul's Drag Race UK: Queens on Lockdown would air, following the queens during the first lockdown. This special episode was released on 12 February.
The fourth series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK began airing on BBC Three on 22 September 2022. RuPaul returned to his role as main host and head judge, and was again joined on the judging panel by Michelle Visage, Alan Carr and Graham Norton, all of whom returned for their respective fourth series. The series was filmed in Pinewood Studios in February 2022. The cast for the fourth series was revealed on 7 September 2022 on social media. The cast also featured Dakota Schiffer, the first out trans woman to compete in the British version of the show.
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The fifth series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK began airing on BBC Three on 28 September 2023. RuPaul returned to his role as main host and head judge, and was again joined on the judging panel by Michelle Visage, Alan Carr and Graham Norton, all of whom returned for their respective fifth series. The series began filming in Pinewood Studios in January 2023. The cast for the fifth series was announced on 11 September 2023 on social media.
The sixth series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK aired on BBC Three on 26 September 2024. RuPaul returned to his role as main host and head judge, and was again joined on the judging panel by Michelle Visage, Alan Carr and Graham Norton, all of whom returned for their respective sixth series. The series began filming in January 2024.
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