Alan Carr has revealed that BBC bosses tried their best to get the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK to tone down their swearing on the show, but seemingly to no avail.
The stand-up star is one of the new judges on the upcoming British version of the hit reality series, which launches on BBC Three on 3 October.
Speaking ahead of the new series’ launch, Alan admitted he was initially surprised to hear that Drag Race UK would be airing on the BBC, particularly as RuPaul retains his “charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent” catchphrase from the original series (if that’s gone over your head... maybe have a look at the initials of each word).
“I was surprised it was on the BBC, I thought it would be on after BabeStation late at night,” he joked. “But good for the BBC for going with it! I feel the viewers should have a little helping of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent. Why not? What’s wrong with that?”
He continued: “[The queens] are a bit potty-mouthed though! That’s another thing... the producers asked me to get them to say something that wasn’t too rude when I was in the workroom with them... but that’s a British drag queen! They are potty-mouths!
“Everyone thinks they are airy-fairies, clutching their handbags, but they’re rough as arseholes and they swear like navvies. That’s a very big misconception. They have to be. It’s dog-eat-dog on the gay scene.”
Alan joins long-serving Drag Race judges RuPaul and Michelle Visage on the new series, on which he and fellow TV personality Graham Norton will serve in rotating roles.
Get to know the queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK a little better here.