You know, just when you think that we’ve probably got enough Drag Race in our lives, along comes Season 3 of Drag Race UK and you’re screaming at the TV wondering how on earth you lived without it. Right?

Honestly, it’s really good.

Are you up to speed? Let’s get into it.

To be honest, there’s so much in this episode that there’s no way to recap every detail of the episode. You may as well just watch it – it’s worth watching.

Overall, this was entertaining from start to finish.

There was a lot that was fairly standard format for the opening episode of a Drag Race series, but also some twists – all of which seemed to work.

As you’d expect, things kicked off with the work-room entrances. Most of the looks were fairly solid, everyone hit their marks and delivered their lines. Job done.

Then it was into a mini challenge of Dirty Charades. When this started, I did a bit of groan. I think this is something that RuPaul used to do on his podcast. I was prepared for this to be terrible. It was actually really fun to watch. I stand corrected.

Then, it was into the runways. Two runways – a home-town look (which is fairly standard) and then a second look which was kind of something you like. That’s a pretty broad category.

There’s so many queens it’s too hard to go through all the different looks – you really should watch the episode. There were some interesting highs and lows – not many people really nailed both looks, there were ups and downs.

Ultimately, we ended up with the Tops being Victoria, Krystal, and Scarlett. That seemed fair enough – all three queens had strong looks in both categories. Charity felt a bit hard done by, which was fair – her looks were really striking.

In the bottom were River, Elektra, and Anubis. That’s probably fair enough – they were the three that had a noticeably weak look in one of the categories. Kitty, Vanity, and Victoria were all probably a bit lucky to escape the bottom.

Then we get to the lip-sync – and it’s lip-sync plural. I don’t think we’ve seen this before, but the Top 2 have to lip-sync to see who wins, and then the Bottom 2 have to lip-sync to see who goes home. I love this! I hope we get this every week – it’s gold!

First up, we’re dealing with the Tops. Scarlett is declared safe, which means that Victoria and Krystal are battling for the win. The track is Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler. A classic, and perfect for this.

Victoria and Krystal have quite different styles – Victoria went for comedy, while Krystal performed the song. Both looked strong, but there was something really compelling about Krystal’s performance. Dressed as a cat – a stunning look – she brought a cat-like quality to her performance. It was surprisingly good who on first impressions seemed like she might not have been the strongest performer. Krystal won, and it was well-deserved.

Then, on to the Bottoms. River was declared safe, and it was left to Elektra and Anubis to battle it out to stay. The track was Sweet Melody by Little Mix. Anubis is fun, but Elektra is a dancer. Not just a dancer, she’s a pocket-rocket and she dominated the stage as she hit every beat of that track. It was exciting to watch. Unsurprisingly, Elektra stays and Anubis goes home.

It was a killer opening episode – it’s set the bar very high for the rest of the series.

The Cast

The cast for this season has now been announced and the show is expected to air in September.

It’s a cast of 12 that will be battling it out for the crown.

Charity Kase

Based in London, Charity’s drag is a self-described mash-up of the Manchester and London scenes.

Current Rannking: Charity is deliberately pushing the boundaries of what we get to see on a show such as Drag Race. Clearly very talented and creative, it’s just a question of whether Charity is going to be too “out there” to be successful within the construct of this show.

Choriza May

Originally from Valencia, Choriza is now based in Newcastle. Expect jokes about her Spanish sausage.

Current Rannking: Choriza is really likeable with a fun sense of humour. She’s going to be good TV.

Elektra Fence

A dancer from Burnley, Elektra is now based in London.

Current Rannking: I really like Elektra, but it was a bit of a rocky start in Episode 1. On the plus side, she’s shown the world that she’s a powerful performer who you do not want to have to go up against. Entertaining.

Ella Vaday

Ella is a theatre queen who hails from Dagenham but is now based in London.

Current Rannking: Ella is really charming, she’s also very talented. You get the feeling that she’s just going to keep turning up and getting the job done every week. She could easily be there right to the end.

Kitty Scott-Claus

Based in London, Kitty is an accomplished queen known for her girl-group impersonal of Nadine Coyle.

Current Rannking: I really love Kitty – she’s exactly my kind of drag queen. Her personality and quick humour is her strength, and that should take her a long way in this competition.

Krystal Versace

London-based Krystal is 19 and doesn’t seem to have a lot of experience as a performer.

Current Rannking: One episode in and Krystal already seems like the surprise packet. She’s 19 but already seems very self-assured and put together. The looks are stunning, and the performance top-drawer. Intimidating.

River Medway

River’s drag name is inspired by her home in Kent.

Current Rannking: There’s something really appealing about River, but it hasn’t been the strongest start. Hopefully, she’ll find her feet quickly.

Scarlett Harlett

Scarlett is based in London and leans into her East End cockney roots.

Current Rannking: I like Scarlett a lot. She got so much air-time in Episode 1 that I was convinced the storyline was that she was going home first. But no, Top 3. Good TV.

Vanity Milan

Vanity is based in London and started doing drag about 12 months ago.

Current Rannking: Vanity seems really likeable but she’s going to need to have more impact in order to stay in this competition.

Victoria Scone

Victoria is a singing queen from Cardiff. She’s got the extra pressure of being the first Cis/AFAB queen to compete in the Drag Race franchise.

Current Rannking: A strong start from Victoria. She’s funny, she’s serving looks, and she’s got stage presence. One to watch.

Veronica Green (London, England)

Veronica was part of the cast for Season 2, but had to pull out when she tested positive for Covid-19.

She’s back for Season 3 and is likely to be a force to be reckoned with.

Current Rannking: With the experience of Season 2 under her belt, Veronica comes into this series as one of the clear frontrunners. She’s had a solid start, but she’s up against a very strong cast. At this stage, I’m not even sure if I can see her in the Top 4.

Anubis Finch

Based in Brighton, Anubis celebrates her Egyptian heritage through her drag and has been in the music industry since her teenage years.

Final Ranking: Anubis is the Pork Chop of this season – eliminated in Episode 1 in the lip-sync against Elektra. She seems really likeable, and – at only 19 – has got her drag career off to a great start.

Comments