Our favourite drag show came fluttering onto UK screens for its second season last month, and if you need a catch up on what’s going on – we’ve got it for you. Here’s what’s happening on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 2.
Be warned – spoilers ahead!
Who are the queens?
Lawrence Chaney
The 23-year-old queen is from Glasgow, and is winning people’s – including RuPaul’s – hearts with a thick Scottish accent! She’s become an instant fan favourite, and have already shown a softer side to herself. Inspired by Madonna and Lady Gaga, we think she’s absolutely fabulous.
Cherry Valentine
26-year-old Cherry is from the lovely town of Darlington, and is a baby queen! She’d only been doing drag for a year before applying for the show and is also a qualified mental health nurse.
What. An. Icon.
Bimini Bon Boulash
Bimini is 26, and got her drag name from combining what her parents would’ve called her as a girl, and her mum’s first cat. She’s a journalist, a vegan, and loves Pamela Anderson and Vivienne Westwood. Bimini got to our heart strings during a chat about gender with Ginny.
Ginny Lemon
31-year-old Ginny is from Worcestershire, and may well be recognised from their performance on X-Factor in 2017. They’re a non-binary Queen, which we learnt more about on the show, and we love them to pieces. Even in all that yellow!
Joe Black
30-year-old internationally known Joe Black is from Brighton and finds inspiration from the cabaret style of the 1920s and 1930s. She is glamour, class, and nothing less. Well known in the drag community, Joe got a very warm welcome from the younger queens who have been watching her from afar!
Tia Kofi
A true Essex queen, Tia Kofi is 30 years old and her name is as quintessentially British as you can get. She’s 1/3 of the Drag Queen band The Vixens, who, like Ginny, auditioned for X-Factor!
Veronica Green
Named after her own supervillian, Veronica Green has a musical theatre background. The 34-year-old has been showing this off at every opportunity, whilst battling some serious shade from other queens!
Sister Sister
Liverpudlian queen, 32-year-old Sister Sister is an art school graduate who went from canvases to her own face. She’s best known for her wacky make-up additions, like bright blue circles around her nose and mouth!
Tayce
26-year-old London resident but Welsh Queen, Tayce is representing her country and the brilliant people in it. Her family has a musical background (her dad was the bass drummer for Wham!) and she has very musical aspirations, which we have seen a few times throughout the series so far.
Ellie Diamond
We’ve got another Scot! This time, it’s 21-year-old Dundee queen, Ellie. She is 6ft 4 and her costumes are even bigger. She funds her drag through working at a fast-food restaurant, but says she’d love to wear the drag to work!
Asstina Mandella
27-year-old Asstina is a London queen through and through! She’s a dancer and has worked with Little Mix, Pussycat Dolls, Mel C, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Fleur East, and Kanye West! She’s worked with Radio 1 on Drag Queen’s Den too.
A’Whora
23-year old Notts girl living in London, A’Whora is a villainous twist on Sleeping Beauty’s Aurora. She’s all glitz and glam (and a little bit shade), and we are loving it.
What challenges have the queens had to do?
Episode 1
The queens first challenge was a Wimbledon inspired tennis photoshoot, with two burly men pelting with tennis balls… nice and easy, right?
The second challenge saw the queens de-drag, and we got to see Lawrence opening up about her insecurities when not in drag. The challenge itself was 2 looks. A British icon, and a hometown look.
We saw Robin Hoods, football kits, stained glass dresses, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Naomi Campbell – a huge display of great talents from all the queens.
Unfortunately, for Joe Black and Bimini Bon Boulash, the creativity falls short, and they ended up in the bottom too. Following a gripping lip-sync battle, Joe Black is sent back to Brighton, which has angered fans throughout the country, arguing the judges seemed to make up reasons to dislike the outfits.
Episode 2
Epsiode 2 saw Cherry Valentine opening up about growing up in a travelling community as the queens prepared for a musical performance of ‘Rats’. The Rusical is cast by Tia Kofi, after being voted the most basic queen (gasp!).
‘Rats’ sees Lawrence Chaney and Cherry Valentine struggling, with Lawrence feeling hugely uncomfortable at the idea of singing and dancing when she’s more of a comedy queen. Ultimately, the lip-sync battle sees Valentine being sent home, and our Welsh queen lives to see another day.
Episode 3
Who wore it best?
An interesting challenge, this saw the queens pair up and make an outfit based around the same colour. One queen is then named as wearing it best, and the other is eligible for elimination. The challenge sees Ginny Lemon use a breastplate and padding for the first time, after being challenged to be ‘sexy’ by Ru. We also see Sister Sister pair a slightly peculiar pink dress with her mismatched makeup, and Veronica creates an emerald gown which fails to hold much glamour.
Overall, the challenge was difficult, and odd for viewers. It led to a bottom two of Tia Kofi and Asstina, despite both being fan favourites and great queens. Many people were shocked when London queen Asstina was sent home by RuPaul.
Episode 4
The mini-challenge of the week was The Great British Fake Off, to see who could improv the best, which saw Ellie Diamond and Sister Sister falter, whilst Bimini and Lawrence championed the challenge. Bimini won the challenge and subsequently got an advantage in the maxi challenge.
The maxi was a live TV morning talk show titled ‘Morning Glory’, which involved the queens performing live and utilising improb. Bimini got to choose her role first, and then everyone could follow suit. We got Veronica and Sister Sister as goth party planners, A’Whora and Tia Kofi as Essex money managers, Bimini and Tayce as the hosts, and Lawrence with Ellie as agony aunts. Not to mention Ginny Lemon as a weather woman.
The runway challenge for the week was a monster mashup, with the queens really going above and beyond in their spooky scary looks.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough for Ginny Lemon and Sister Sister. The two best friends were asked to lip-sync, but after an emotional day for Ginny, she decided rather than fight her closest friend in the competition, she’d see herself out.
What should we expect next?
Well, the next episode airs today (11th Feb). But when filmed, the gap between episode 4 and 5 was quite long due to coronavirus laws. So whether the queens will have the same skills, the same alliances… We just don’t know!
