Drag Race UK competitor The Vivienne has hit back at the suggestion she has an advantage over her fellow queens, having already won one drag competition judged by RuPaul.
The Vivienne is one of 10 queens who will be vying for the title of the UK’s first Drag Race superstar when the show’s British version finally debuts on BBC Three on Thursday night.
When she was first announced as one of the new contestants, some Drag Race fans were already aware of her, as she was previously chosen by RuPaul as the UK’s drag ambassador at an event in 2016, to coincide with the US version of Drag Race airing on TruTV.
However, speaking to HuffPost UK and other reporters on the morning of Drag Race UK’s London launch, The Vivienne dismissed the idea that she and Ru have an existing “relationship”.
“I had to audition like everyone else, I didn’t get approached for the show,” she insisted.
“I saw the [Drag Race UK announcement] go up on Facebook, and that day I went, ‘right, let’s get a camera together, let’s film an audition’.”
She continued: “You’ll see in the first episode, we kind of make a thing and say ‘listen, let’s snap that crown, and try and get another one’.”
Another queen on the line-up that might already be familiar to viewers is Divina De Campo, who previously competed on The Voice UK when it was still airing on BBC One, as well as serving as one of 100 judges on the singing competition All Together Now.
Like The Vivienne, she was keen to shoot down the idea that her past TV experience meant she was better equipped for Drag Race than her fellow queens.
“All the US girls have all said that it was the most intense experience that they’ve ever had, and I can absolutely vouch for that,” Divina said. “Having done all this TV, nothing has ever prepared me for this. And nothing ever could.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK debuts on BBC Three at 8pm on Thursday 3 October.