The BBC has announced the first guest judges who’ll be joining RuPaul and Michelle Visage on the third season of Drag Race UK.
Drag Race is set to return for its third UK run next month, with three of the celebrities who’ll be joining the panel being announced on Monday.
The first of them is two-time Strictly Come Dancing champion Oti Mabuse, who has previously appeared on the panel of the BBC’s The Greatest Dancer and ITV’s The Masked Dancer.
A self-professed Drag Race superfan, Oti said: “I loved being on the set! It felt surreal – I’ve watched every episode since season one in the States, Canada, Down Under and I was excited to be on the UK one and meet the queens and work with them.”
Elsewhere in the series, fans can also look forward to appearances from comedy legend Kathy Burke and Great British Bake Off host Matt Lucas.
Kathy joked: “I’m a big Drag Race fan, so It was absolutely brilliant to meet RuPaul and Michelle Visage – and I loved the very- kind-to-old- ladies’ lighting.”
Matt also said: “It was on my bucket list to be on the show, but my years of wearing tights are behind me, so I was both relieved and delighted to be asked to be on the panel! I was hugely impressed by the brilliance and invention on the show, and it was one of the most entertaining days I’ve ever had.
“It’s a celebration of something which is all too rarely celebrated elsewhere, so it has become pioneering, definitive, iconic television.”
So far, no further details about additional guest judges have been revealed, although rumours have suggested that Leigh-Anne Pinnock of Little Mix fame will also be sitting on the panel in a future episode.
The season three line-up for Drag Race UK was ru-vealed last week, with fans applauding the inclusion of Victoria Scone, the first cisgender woman to ever compete on a Drag Race franchise.
However, many were also disappointed to see the lack of diversity among the queens, which was called out by former finalist Tayce.
When contacted by HuffPost UK, a BBC spokesperson said: “Celebrating diversity is at the heart of Drag Race UK, and we welcome queens from all backgrounds.”