Are you up to speed with S2E7 of RPDR UK? Let’s get into it.

We kicked things off this week with a Reading Challenge.

I didn’t get the 3D glasses thing – I guess that’s a sponsorship? Who’s paying for that? What are they advertising?

It’s getting harder and harder to come up with something fresh in a reading challenge. Everyone did a solid job – it was entertaining without being hugely memorable.

From there, it was into a sewing challenge with unconventional materials.

The runway

A quick run-down of the looks:

• Tayce: The brillo pads didn’t really work. She looked gorgeous – she would have looked even more gorgeous without the garment.
• Lawrence: A well-constructed look from IKEA bags. Somehow, she made it look flattering.
• A’Whora: A’Whora wanted this win and there was never any doubt about it. The construction on this plastic ensemble was incredible, with the over-sized statement shoulders incredibly effective.
• Bimini: Bimini somehow made this fashion. She said that her influences were Vivienne Westwood and Pamela Anderson, and that’s exactly what she served. Surprisingly successful.
• Ellie: We know that Ellie can put a look together, but this was really well done. The execution was impressive, and the attention to detail meant that this was a fully-realised concept.
• Sister: The more you looked at this, the messier it got. It was a good creative direction, but the end result was a mess.

The judging

This week, the judging panel was RuPaul, Michelle Visage, and Graham Norton.

The guest judge was Maya Jama. She brought good energy to the panel.

Down to six contestants, and everyone was up for critique.

The Top 3 were A’Whora, Ellie, and Bimini. A’Whora was declared the winner, which was never in doubt.

The Bottom 3 were Lawrence, Tayce, and Sister. Lawrence was safe, leaving Tayce and Sister in the bottom. Overall, that seemed fair enough.

The track was Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself by Jess Glynne.

This is a good storytelling song – it’s got a beat but it needs some emotion.

Overall, this was a solid lip-sync. Sister got lost in her outfit. Tayce seemed to be killing it.

Ultimately, Tayce was saved and Sister was sent home. That felt like the right result.

The cast

Lawrence Chaney

Hometown: Glasgow

USP: A big diva who delivers fashion.

Current Ranking: Lawrence is probably still the frontrunner here. She’s survived the singing and dancing of Episode 5, and she stumbled on Snatch Game. But she’s still got the most wins under her belt.

Bimini

Hometown: Norfolk

USP: Dancing queen.

Current Ranking: After a shaky start in this competition, Bimini has now hit her stride. Winning Snatch Game sets her up nicely for a run into the Top 3.

Tayce

Hometown: Newport

USP: A dancing diva. Doesn’t sew.

Current Ranking: Talented and beautiful. There’s a lot to like about Tayce. It feels inevitable that Tayce will be in the Top 3.

A’Whora

Hometown: Worksop

USP: Fashion queen who likes being sinister.

Current Ranking: A’Whora gives good TV because she’s got opinions and is happy to let you have them. She also seems to have found her feet in this competition, and clearly knows how to serve a look. The question is whether she can make it to the Top 3 – she seems like a solid bet for the Top 4.

Ellie Diamond

Hometown: Dundee

USP: A cartoon character come to life.

Current Ranking: Ellie has really impressed in this competition. She’s young and relatively inexperienced, but she’s delivered strong performances, strong looks, and she’s in with a strong chance. Will she make it to the Top 4? I can’t quite see it.

Sister Sister

Hometown: Liverpool

USP: Dry comedy. Worried about falling over.

Current Ranking: Generally seems a safe pair of hands, but didn’t quite seem to have the impact required to take the crown in this kind of pageant. She made it to Episode 7 where she lost the lip-sync to Tayce.

Tia Kofi

Hometown: Essex

USP: Science fiction nerd. Not competitive. Delivers old-school drag.

Current Ranking: Super-likeable, super-skinny. We said goodbye to Tia in Episode 6, losing the lip-sync to Lawrence.

Veronica Green

Hometown: Rochdale

USP: Super-competitive. Inspired by supervillains and femme fatales. Also sings.

Current Ranking: Veronica did not survive the pandemic. Eliminated from the competition by a virus, but she does have a golden ticket to join Season 3 – assuming that such a thing is possible in whatever new-normal awaits us.

Ginny Lemon

Hometown: Worcestershire

USP: She’s a singer. She’s also bonkers.

Current Ranking: I was half expecting Ginny to be out the door on Week 1, but she made it to Week 4 when she eliminated herself rather than lip-sync against Sister. Ginny played this game on her own terms – that’s a power-move.

Asttina Mandella

Hometown: London

USP: Body queen who can dance.

Current Ranking: Asttina was eliminated in Week 3 – losting a lip-sync to Tia. That’s a total gag. Asttina is so good! I’d tipped her to go all the way and win. Can’t believe she was pushed out so early.

Cherry Valentine

Hometown: Darlington

USP: Club kid.

Current Ranking: Solid start, but eliminated in Week 2 – losing the lip-sync to Tayce.

Joe Black

Hometown: Brighton

USP: Cabaret. Joe Black knows how to put on a show.

Current Ranking: Eliminated in Week 1. We were all gobsmacked that Joe was out so early in the competition. Joe was voted back in as the returning queen in Episode 5, but she ended up in the Bottom 2 and lost the lip-sync to Tia. Maybe this kind of show isn’t such a good fit for Joe.

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