G’day to the queens of the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under

Racers start your engines because the first ever series of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under has arrived and it’s time to meet the queens.

The latest franchise of RuPaul is travelling all the way down under to meet the best drag queens from Australia and New Zealand. And the best news is UK viewers can now watch the show when it drops on BBC iPlayer on 2nd May.

There’s been a big hole in our lives since Lawrence Chaney was crowned the winner of season two of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. So now it’s time for even more queens and I couldn’t be happier.

The queens in the premiere season of Drag Race Down Under, are big names on the Australian drag scene. One of them has already had a makeup range with Benefit, another has been doing drag for over 20 years and another is followed by Bimini on Instagram. So I love them already.

These are the queens of Drag Race Down Under:

Anita Wigl’it

The first queen taking part in Drag Race Down Under is Anita Wigl’it. She’s from New Zealand and owns a cabaret club in Auckland. She’s probably going to be a strong comedy queen in the series as she hosts a monthly comedy drag show called “House of Drag”.

She’s also best mates with fellow contestant Kita Mean, who co-owns the cabaret club and they’ve been performing as a duo since 2012. It will be very interesting to see how their friendship affects their performance in the competition.

Anita has been doing drag for a long time, so she knows her stuff. She won Vancouver’s next top Drag Superstar and Drag Entertainer of the year in 2013 and she’s performed at many Mardi Gras events in Sydney.

Art Simone

Sorry but can we all just appreciate the makeup here? Stunning. Art Simone is a big deal in Australian drag culture. She has nearly 150k followers on Instagram, has been in movies, TV shows and has been awarded Drag Performer of the Year two years running. No pressure for the other queens then.

And that’s not all, she’s already released a makeup collection with Benefit. Her love of makeup is very evident in her Instagram – she’s not afraid of colour and is a big lover of a glitter coated wig.

Coco Jumbo

Coco is from Australia and is a well seasoned performer. She’s performed on the main stage at Mardi Gras, won multiple Drag Industry Variety Awards and worked with Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley. Not jealous at all.

Coco has some of the most incredible wigs I’ve ever seen on a drag queen. She’s been described as “sassy, energetic and playful” so I have high hopes for her.

Elektra Shock

Elektra is a New Zealand based queen who already knows Kita and Anita after appearing on House of Drag, where she was a runner up on the show.

She’s said to be a dance queen, so should have no trouble slaying a lip sync. Elektra has been doing drag for nearly 10 years, first starting out in 2012.

Etcetera Etcetera

Etcetera is a non-binary queen who is already followed by UK queen Bimini Bon Boulash on Instagram so I’ve got a good feeling about them.

They’re one of the youngest queens in the competition at just 22 years old, but they’ve already made a name for themselves in Sydney and are also known as the “Glamour Bug”. Etcetera performs at one of Sydney’s most iconic venues – The Imperial Erskineville.

Jojo Zaho

Jojo is based in New South Wales and started their drag in 2016 as a political statement in protest of an Indigenous council member who said “homosexuality is not part of Indigenous culture”. Jojo then went and turned up to a Pride March in a dress made with the pride flag and an Indigenous flag. What a power move.

Since then she’s been smashing all her drag performances and competed in the inaugural Miss First Nation Indigenous drag queen pageant, has appeared in a documentary about drag and had a TV cameo.

Karen From Finance

Karen is a big name on the Australian drag scene and was one of the original members of the cult queer cabaret “YUMMY”. Karen has been going to RuPaul’s Drag Con for a number of years and has nearly 70k followers on Instagram.

Karen recently had to issue an apology after a photo came out of her tattoo of a golliwog doll. She has had the tattoo covered and issued a statement in March.

She said: “I would like to address and formally apologise for a part of my past – something that I’ve long been remorseful for – and admittedly ashamed to share.

“Eleven years ago, I had a collection of golliwog dolls – a collection that began when I was two-years-old – and I made the uninformed, ignorant and regrettable decision to have one of these dolls tattooed.

“Even though there was of course never any intention of malice, I realised how irresponsible and stupid I had been and so I disposed of the dolls to landfill and had my tattoo covered.”

Kita Mean

So I think it’s safe to say Kita is a big fan of colour. Kita is based in Auckland and works with fellow contestant Anita at their co-owned cabaret club.

Kita first started doing drag after dressing up for a New Year’s Eve party and very importantly for Drag Race Kita can sew and make her own costumes.

Maxi Shield

Maxi has been doing drag for an impressive 23 years! She’s worked as part of “Drag Storytime” where drag queens read books to kids, closed the 2000 Olympic Ceremony in Sydney and been named Madonna’s National Hostess for the Australian leg of her tour.

Maxi has performed everywhere and doesn’t seem to take herself too seriously, her Instagram is full of pics of her laughing out loud and touching rather attractive gentlemen.

Scarlet Adams

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The final contestant of the Drag Race Down Under queens is Scarlet Adams. Scarlet has been doing drag for a number of years and is a burlesque performer, pole designer and costume designer.

She has won a number of awards including Entertainer of the Year 2016 at the Proud Awards.

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Scarlet has also issued an apology after a number of photos emerged of her in blackface, brownface and various culturally appropriated costumes. Aboriginal queen Felicia Foxx posted the photos and said it made her “sick” to see members of the LGBTQ+ community disrespecting other cultures.

Scarlet has since apologised and said they were “young” and “ignorant” for performing in those costumes.

She said: “In recent days I have heard stories repeated about my past; rumours that I would like the opportunity to address directly and honestly.

“Despite this being a story I am deeply ashamed of, and something I had tried to forget. I’ve come to realise in recent years that taking responsibility and admitting my mistakes is an important learning experience, and something that has helped shape me as a performer, and mature as a person.

“There is no way to sugar-coat it, when I was a teenager roughly eight years ago I performed in blackface/cultural appropriation. I was young and I was ignorant. I am no longer that person.”

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•Alright babes? It’s time to find out which Drag Race UK season two queen you are

•Just a bunch of iconic behind the scenes photos from Drag Race UK season two

•Beans, Vogue and book deals: Everything the queens have done since the Drag Race UK final