RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Finale Review — Series 2, BBC Three

By
Eleanor King
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The Official RuPaul's Drag Race UK Series Two Tour
Image Source: BBC

Format: BBC 3 Reality Competition Series

Genre: Reality Competition

Writer: Christian Manley

Cast: Lawrence Chaney, Bimini Bon-Boulash, Tayce, Ellie Diamond, A’Whora, Sister Sister, Tia Kofi, Joe Black, Veronica Green, Ginny Lemon, Asstina Mandella, Cherry Valentine

Judges: RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Alan Carr, Graham Norton (plus guest judges)

Series Director: Tony Grech-Smith

Series Producer: Matt Green

Production Company: World of Wonder

Duration: 10 Episodes (Approx. 60-70 Mins Long)

Age Rating: 12

Last Thursday marked the highly-anticipated final of the fiercely popular reality competition, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. I am not exaggerating when I say I was a nervous wreck from start to finish — in a good way, of course. Not a joke, just a fact.

Synopsis

The cheeky sister of the original and wildly popular American ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ combines a series of challenges involving creating runway looks, singing, dancing and acting to find a winning drag queen. Each episode, Ru decides on a winner of the week. The bottom two have to face off in a lip-sync. The winner of the lip-sync is told to “Shantay” (they are safely back in the race) and the bottom queen is told to “Sashay away” (meaning that they have been eliminated).

Competition

Whittled down to four queens from the 12-member cast, finalists Lawrence Chaney, Bimini Bon Boulash, Tayce and Ellie Diamond battled it out for the crown in true Drag Race fashion. They performed one of Ru’s original songs (‘A Little Bit of Love’) complete with the finalists’ own verses and killer choreography. A surprise return of the other queens completed the performance. The verses were empowering. The four finalists imprinted their own signature styles into their lyrics. The runway looks were sickening- Bimini’s punk-bimbo spin on a white wedding, Ellie’s Glinda the Good Witch gown, Lawrence’s form-fitting purple racer dress and Tayce’s skin tone feathered bodysuit.

The final four then gave some advice to their younger selves. This is an emotional yet empowering part of the finale in which the queens highlight their struggles. However, they highlight their ability to overcome these setbacks and proudly display their accomplishments. Ru then granted the final three, Lawrence, Bimini and Tayce, one final lip-sync to prove their worthiness as the UK’s next Drag Queen Superstar. The competition culminated in a three-way lip-sync battle to Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’. This was a true testament to the trials and challenges that the season has faced.

Best Bits

But what else made this series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK such a success? With so many memorable moments, it’s hard to even know where to start. Maybe with Tia Kofi’s iself-deprecating humour, particularly the now infamous green dress and its tagline: “an adequate dress, made of material, that is on my body. Vintage? Nooo. Elegance? Nooo. Still stuck on me? Just about.” Or even the now-infamous H&M-gate. Following a comment from judge Michelle Visage about a disappointingly average dress, campy-spooky Brighton queen Joe Black attempted a lighthearted response. She informed the judges that it was from H&M, to which Ru erupted in a fury. This led to the now-widely quoted, “I don’t wanna see any fucking H&M.” When I tell you that it was a ground-please-swallow-me-up moment, I mean it in every way.

Meanwhile, we had Ginny Lemon’s self-sashay, which was just…iconic. And then of course, who can forget the brilliantly-infectious ear-worm that was ‘UK Hun?’ for the RuRu-Vision challenge, and the conception of a girl group that could rival ABBA — the United Kingdolls.

Result

Listening to the judges’ critiques, it was clear it had been whittled down to Lawrence Chaney and Bimini Bon Boulash. Both queens had proven their skills and are powerful players in the drag world. Lawrence had infectious whit, effortless commandeering of the stage and powerful runway looks. Bimini was master of the runway with boundary-pushing, non-conformist looks and irresistibly likeable, funny character. Both queens truly excelled but it was Glasgow queen Lawrence Chaney who snatched the crown in the end.

This win marked the first Scottish winner of Drag Race, as well as the first plus-sized winner. This was a real stamp of success and empowerment for diversity. Empowerment and diversity ran right through the series; there were important talks of gender identity and self-love, with Ginny Lemon and Bimini discussing their experiences being non-binary. Furthermore, ‘Queens on Lockdown’ documented Darlington queen Cherry Valentine’s job as a mental health nurse during the pandemic. This highlighted that these queens are real advocates for a society that says you can be whatever you want to be and more.

Analysis

The final episode was bittersweet — it was exciting to see a queen crowned after a year of intermittent filming, but it was sad to see the series come to an end.

As fans discovered at the end of episode four, the pandemic stopped filming of RuPaul’s Drag Race in early 2020, forcing the queens on a seven-month hiatus part way through the competition. Unfortunately, the charismatic Veronica Green was forced to step down from the show after testing positive for Covid-19. Although, she has received an invitation to return to season 3! The one-off special, ‘Queens on Lockdown’, showed the impacts that the dramatic halting of the entertainment industry had on the contestants. This made returning to the Werk Room even more special later on in the year. It is a season to remember.

Like it or not, this series was difficult to avoid. The true charisma and passion each of the queens have for their craft made it so enjoyable. Their enthusiasm was infectious. Their determination in addressing personal trials showed the adversity the LGBTQ society have faced yet their continuous pushing forward. What I enjoy particularly about the UK show is that the British queens secure their identities proudly and unapologetically with traditional British grit and sarcastic humour. Furthermore, the fact that they aren’t afraid to show this quintessential Britishness — think Ginny Lemon’s signature “IYA BABS” or Tayce’s comedy sketch on her love of baked beans — guarantees them love and adoration nationwide (and worldwide!).

Summary

This series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK pushes boundaries and reminds us that after a year of Covid restrictions, the entertainment industry is irreplaceable. It should never be under-valued and we will warmly welcome live performances as soon as we can.

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RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is available to watch on BBC iPlayer at https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p07kt8b4/rupauls-drag-race-uk.

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