RuPaul's Drag Race UK

[Mister Six]

Mrs Six and I just caught up with this so I've enjoyed reliving the adventures through all your posts. Surprised at how much The Vivienne is liked here, as I've always found her fairly unpleasant and overbearing - although she's a consummate performer, and her Donald Trump was uncanny. Her catwalk choices have been hit or miss for me though.

Baga's Tory leanings are disappointing but she's probably still my favourite at the minute for her impeccable comic timing and gloriously grotesque makeup choices. I thought her ad was great, too, and was surprised it wasn't as well received as it probably should have been.

(Also, how has nobody made a Del Girl joke yet?)

Cheryl Hole was a total void of anything for me until the girl group episode, where she suddenly came alive. I chalked that one up to her being in her element, and the mediocrity of her water ad affirmed that for me. She'll be the next one out, unless she can scrape by on the sing-off. But I wonder if she'd be dropped anyway in the knowledge that she doesn't really deserve to be in the top three.

Divina has won me over after initially seeming a bit too spiky, but her catwalk creations are usually fantastic and she's a great performer. I think it'll be a close run thing between her and Baga in the end. Divina is the more rounded talent, but I could see Bags winning on force of personality.

[Blinder Data]

I'm not sure that people love the Vivienne more than they recognise that she is arguably the most accomplished queen and viable champion.

I agree with whoever said that the editing is making us like certain queens, as I started to finally sympathise with Blue, Cheryl and Vivienne. Buttering us up for Cheryl to leave next week and the Vivienne to win it overall. DDV needs to wind her neck in otherwise she is oot. Maybe the Viv and DDV will take lumps out of each other while Bagga will sneak through the middle by being the funniest, but I suspect the Viv's professionalism will kick in and she'll be crowned winner.

[alan nagsworth]

I'm starting to go back on my opinion that Baga has the diverse talents to potentially win now. The "glammed up pissed aunt down the working mens club on a Friday night" shtick is starting to wear a bit thin now. Her water advert might have been funny but otherwise it was shite, no real direction and no interesting selling point. Her runway was obviously quintessentially her which is entertaining enough but she's not really stepping outside her comfort zone whatsoever.

Cracking episode. I don't think I've laughed as often or as hard at any Drag Race episode before. Drag Race UK pisses on the US original from a great height... and we're going to get a second series, yay!

What? You're gonna need to clarify whether you mean the US series' first season, or the way it's been in recent seasons, or the whole entire thing, because I could only really agree with you if it were the first one you meant. Season 1 of US Drag Race is obviously hella ropey and everything afterwards has been far superior but there's no way UK Drag Race, which has been very good at best, even deserves to be compared to the original show at all considering it hasn't even ended yet. US Drag Race at its peak is a fuckin masterpiece, some of the greatest telly I've ever seen. This ain't.

[Clownbaby]

Agree about Baga I must say. I like her but not winner material at all. I have a suspicion though that they might have her win purely because she's so particularly scabby n British, and the most obvious contrast to any US queen

[alan nagsworth]

Agree about Baga I must say. I like her but not winner material at all. I have a suspicion though that they might have her win purely because she's so particularly scabby n British, and the most obvious contrast to any US queen

Aye, I said something similar to my partner when it was only a couple episodes in: the top prize is having your own show in the US. Her OTT Britishisms would be seriously crowd-pleasing for that audience.

[Cuellar]

Hahaha Baga just slagging her own mum. What a prick.

I love Michaela Coel big time. She's just wonderful.

[Carpool Dragon]

Hahaha Baga just slagging her own mum. What a prick.

Hopefully that tanked her chances of winning (well that and being a Tory who hates Somalians). I'm team Divina but I have a feeling The Vivienne's gonna take it.

[Cuellar]

"They don't know what our relationship is like - I know she'd laugh at the things I said"
[cut to mum crying]

I know it's all in the edit but that made me lol

Yeah, definitely think it's between The Vivienne and DDC now.

[olliebean]

I love Michaela Coel big time. She's just wonderful.

Should've been Doctor Who.

[Mister Six]

Despite her Toriness, I did like Baga until Mumgate. I know the editing contributes a ton to that, but even the one remark about "women of a certain age" put me off and continuing to defend her runway choices by attacking her mum just compounded it.

Hoping strongly that Divina wins. The Vivienne - who only really impressed me with her Donald Trump turn, although I liked her rainy day outfit - is just boring to me.

Also, did anyone else fancy Divina's sister? She was lovely.

[Cuellar]

Yeah, I think The Vivienne is a bit dull. A great mimic, no question, but a bit wooden in every other acting challenge.

[Norton Canes]

Bit annoyed that Baga's mum got in with the drag name I'd use

Sacka Shit

[Mister Six]

Oh yeah, it fucks me off that even in the penultimate episode people are pulling out the "BAGA SHIT!!!" joke. We had it two times this week, I think, once from Baga herself. And each time it's delivered like it's a brand new gag.

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

Oh yeah, it fucks me off that even in the penultimate episode people are pulling out the "BAGA SHIT!!!" joke. We had it two times this week, I think, once from Baga herself. And each time it's delivered like it's a brand new gag.

They're all waiting for the final when guest judge Karl Pilkington shades her makeup by calling her "Baga Chimps"

[alan nagsworth]

Haha the "baga shite" joke hacks me off as well.

What a weird one this week. I've lost so much respect for Baga there, it was unpleasant and difficult to watch. Also, I know Cheryl is the weak link but the decision on who to keep is based on the lip sync alone, and Baga was sloppy in her performance. It's Cheryl's strong point and she aced it (though it was somewhat unremarkable). Annoying, but we still know for a fact that Baga won't take the crown.

[Mister Six]

Actually I disagree there - I thought Baga connected much better with the song than Cheryl, whose wild arm-waving was way overboard. Cheryl's good at doing girl band bangers and not much else, it would seem.

[Blinder Data]

Really want Divina to sneak it but I fully expect the editors to make it look a bit wobbly for Vivienne before she smashes it in the last round to keep up the pretence this has been a contest. I knew she was gonna win it from DAY ONE.

[Blue Jam]

RuPaul: Way-aye pet?
The Vivienne: That's Geordie, Ru...

Beats "Awright guvnor? Gor blimey, I want some crumpets!" at least.

(why do Americans find crumpets so amusing? It's not like we Brits find pancakes hilarious)

I'm still predicting a win for The Vivienne. Baga Chipz may have that "scabby and British" appeal but thanks to The Beatles Scouse is one of the accents Americans know and love and therefore it should werk if The Vivienne wins that trip to LA to film a miniseries.

[Blue Jam]

Baga Chipz comparing herself to Ann Widdecombe on Strictly... again, not entirely without affection.

[Carpool Dragon]

Knew Viv's win was coming from the edit, meh. AS5 is around the corner and I already know the top three because I can't stop ruining things for myself. Couldn't be worse than AS4 though, what a fucking mess.

[Mister Six]

Disappointed that Divina didn't make it but I can't really argue with the results. Vivienne's a highly polished drag machine. Tough competition.

I was appalled by Michelle saying Divina's looks weren't all that, and delighted when Graham rebutted her by pointing out that the parasol look was proper high fashion, catwalk-ready quality (something Mrs Six and I both said when that episode aired).

[Blinder Data]

I was appalled by Michelle saying Divina's looks weren't all that, and delighted when Graham rebutted her by pointing out that the parasol look was proper high fashion, catwalk-ready quality (something Mrs Six and I both said when that episode aired).

Yes, it was good to see Michelle's bullshit being called out. It was so frustrating when she just didn't get certain looks/challenges because of her obstinance and cultural differences. "But your name is Bagga Chipz and your water is called Chippy Tea, what's a battered sausage got to do with it?" Come on love, learn a bit more about British culture, it's sort of needed. God knows how she'll fair in Australia.

Viv was always going to win because she was the most consistent, had the best looks and was the cleverest at playing the game, like selling herself to the judges and picking the right moment to tell her story and get emotional. She knew exactly what buttons to push - she was dressed exactly like Ru at the end! But fair play, she was the best. I just wish it was more of a contest. That last lip sync was also disappointing, what a wet fart of a finish.

[alan nagsworth]

Michelle's fuckin face when Graham countered here was absolutely priceless man. I love Michelle but she's so goddamn salty it's hilarious.

That top 3 ranking was highly predictable, I agree. Although it's been a decent enough season on the whole and I'm certainly excited for the second. But Divina was my favourite by a mile.

[Blue Jam]

OH MY GOOOOODDDDD:

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a29877362/rupauls-drag-race-uk-spin-off-the-vivienne-baga-chipz/

[bgmnts]

Finally getting round to this, The Vivienne can fuck off, getting on my tits.

Really like Divina and Cheryl Hole genuinely gives me the horn.


Update - Yeah Divina definitely seems like the most talented one of them all, but The Vivienne is the biggest gobshite. So The Vivienne is going to win obviously.

I would definitely go and see her show if she put one on, as she does seem a genuine talent and not just mucky puns and garish outfits, if thats what drag queen shows are.

[bgmnts]

Seriously loving Divina!

[Better Midlands]

There was a widely supported thread on Mumsnet a few weeks ago describing how offensive they found this programme and men wearing "womanface" in general.

I'd never thought about it that way before tbh.

[bgmnts]

A part of me always wondered if it was offensive to women , like as in maybe that being representative of the idea of femininity. But I feel its clearly an exaggerated form of expression, its a clear pisstake of both men and women to me.

[alan nagsworth]

I don't think it's a piss take of women, it's men dressed as women in order to take the piss out of the masculine identity. The female portrayals in drag are OTT because that's just extremely well-realised absurdism. If you're a gay man and someone calls you a sissy, in my opinion going full pelt by dressing up as a woman and saying "so what mate, femininity is fucking cool, more people should aspire towards this" is a great form of protest.

A large portion of drag is a rejection of masculinity and embracing things that have traditionally always been strong facets of the female identity in pop culture: high fashion, flawless makeup, shamelessness and self-love, etc. Of course drag didn't start like that right out of the gate as a lot of people in that scene were very poor but it is something a lot of them strongly aspired towards, as well as blurring the lines between masculinity and femininity, which is also something that still exists in drag today. The scene also has a huge female following and as the divide between gender identities become more and more indistinguishable (and hopefully one day completely eradicated) I see basically nothing but joyous and liberating expression in this art form.

I'm sorry this post isn't very well constructed, I'm extremely irritable lately from endless lockdown (hence my hardly posting here at all) so I probably haven't put my point across very well.

[bgmnts]

I def misspoke. Its more like a celebration but through like exaggeration for me.


Although watching the US version gets grim as fuck at times because RuPaul is an absolute shill machine. The level of commercialism is insane.