RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 1
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| RuPaul's Drag Race UK | |
|---|---|
| Series 1 | |
 Promotional poster for series one | |
| 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]
Contestants[edit]
Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
.
Lip syncs[edit]
Legend:
| Episode | Contestants | Song | Eliminated | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[7] | Gothy Kendoll | vs. | Vinegar Strokes | "New Rules" (Dua Lipa) | Gothy Kendoll |
| 2[8] | Blu Hydrangea | vs. | Scaredy Kat | "Venus" (Bananarama) | Scaredy Kat |
| 3[9] | Sum Ting Wong | vs. | Vinegar Strokes | "Would I Lie to You?" (Eurythmics) | Vinegar Strokes |
| 4[10] | Crystal | vs. | Sum Ting Wong | "Spice Up Your Life" (Spice Girls) | Sum Ting Wong |
| 5[11] | Crystal | vs. | The Vivienne | "Power" (Little Mix) | Crystal |
| 6[12] | Blu Hydrangea | vs. | Cheryl Hole | "Call My Name (Wideboys Remix)" (Cheryl) | Blu Hydrangea |
| 7[13] | Baga Chipz | vs. | Cheryl Hole | "Tears Dry on Their Own" (Amy Winehouse) | Cheryl Hole |
| Episode | Contestants | Song | Winner | ||
| 8[14] | Divina de Campo | vs. | The Vivienne | "I'm Your Man" (Wham!) | The Vivienne |
Guest judges[edit]
Listed in chronological order:
- Andrew Garfield, actor
- Maisie Williams, actress
- Twiggy, model and fashion designer
- Geri Halliwell, singer
- Jade Thirlwall, singer
- Cheryl, singer, television personality and dancer[15]
- Michaela Coel, actress[16]
Special guests[edit]
Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 3
- Raven, runner-up of both RuPaul's Drag Race Season 2 and All Stars 1
Episode 4
- Stacey Dooley, investigative journalist
- Lorraine Kelly, television presenter
Episode 5
- MNEK, singer and music producer
Episode 6
- Katya, contestant from RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7 and runner-up of All Stars 2
Episode 8
- AJ and Curtis Pritchard, ballroom dancers
Episodes[edit]
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
| ||||
| 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.
| ||||
| 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.
| ||||
| 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.
| ||||
| 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.
| ||||
| 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.
| ||||
| 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.
| ||||
| 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.
| ||||
Reception[edit]
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.[17] 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.[18]
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".[19]
References[edit]
- ^ "'Graham Norton and Alan Carr confirmed as celebrity judges for RuPaul's Drag Race UK – series to air on BBC Three in 2019". BBC. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ^ "HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media". consent.yahoo.com. Retrieved 4 June 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Welsh, Daniel (10 March 2020). "RuPaul's Drag Race UK: Scaredy Kat Takes On 'Bedroom Queen' Critics". HuffPost UK. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "CAST OF RUPAUL's DRAG RACE UK | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- ^ "EDM Music & Dance Songs Chart – November 16, 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race UK: Meet the queens for the first UK series". BBC News. BBC. 21 August 2019. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "All Star Talent Show Extravaganza". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 2. Episode 1. 25 August 2016.
- ^ "All Stars Snatch Game". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 2. Episode 2. 1 September 2016.
- ^ "HERstory Of The World". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 2. Episode 3. 8 September 2016.
- ^ "Drag Movie Shequels". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 2. Episode 4. 15 September 2016.
- ^ "Revenge of the Queens". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 2. Episode 5. 22 September 2016.
- ^ "Drag Fish Tank". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 2. Episode 6. 28 September 2016.
- ^ "Family That Drags Together". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 2. Episode 7. 6 October 2016.
- ^ "All Stars Supergroup". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 2. Episode 8. 13 October 2016.
- ^ "Episode 6". BBC. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ "Episode 7". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- ^ Bromwich, Kathryn (22 November 2019). "Fierce competition: how a Brit makeover saved RuPaul's Drag Race". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ Baker, Emily (21 November 2019). "RuPaul's Drag Race UK's first series was outstanding — all thanks to the queens". iNews.
- ^ Curto, Justin (21 November 2019). "RuPaul's Drag Race U.K. Finale Recap: The Queen of England". Vulture. Archived from the original on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.