Krystal Versace Drag Race UK

‘Amazing, incredible, overwhelming’: Krystal Versace on winning Drag Race UK season three

‘I felt like a winner before the crown because of the way Ru spoke to me’


Sorry, how good was that final episode? Any naysayers of Drag Race UK season three have been silenced by the string of great episodes leading up to last night’s big final, and it was everything anyone could ever have hoped for. It really showcased the best of the season – three amazing finalists, the rest of the cast returning, an excellent top three Christmas banger and gorgeous drag across the board. Krystal Versace took the Drag Race UK crown in the end, becoming the youngest winner from any franchise of RuPaul’s Drag Race to do so. Legendary behaviour.

I sat down with Krystal on what must be the most overwhelming day of her life to discuss the win, the season and her future in the drag world and beyond!

‘I can’t even get to grips with it yet’

Krystal’s out of drag for the call, and after the hectic nature of last night’s final event I don’t blame her. It was an amazing night, and Krystal had time for everyone and was incredibly friendly. She looked immaculate. “Last night was amazing, incredible, overwhelming and just so much love. It was a massive celebration. I can’t even get to grips with it yet, I need some time to reflect and really get it to sink in. At the moment it’s so new and fresh.”

Did Krystal think she might win? “I definitely said to myself ‘I might win this’. It was a tough call. Some moments I thought I was going to win and others I didn’t, but overall it was still a shock.”

‘I felt like a winner without a crown just because of the way Ru spoke to me’

Krystal got a lot of love from RuPaul across the competition, the high praise she got making her appear as the host’s clear favourite. “It was amazing. I definitely came away from it feeling like a winner without any crowns just because of the way Ru spoke to me. I loved the relationship we had. There was a lot taken out and behind camera, but he’s just a human being like us and a very down to earth person who just wants to lift others up.”

I asked Krystal if this kind of support helped her feel more comfortable on the show when competing. “I still got in my head a lot because I’m very much that type of person. It’s such a tough competition and you can’t talk about your feelings easily off camera. It’s a lot. But I take so much from it and it was amazing to know I was seen. Watching it back, I can see she likes me but at the time I didn’t really see that. I knew we’d had good moments but I still felt that I could go home tomorrow.”

Not all queens got such high praise, and I asked Krystal Versace if she felt any pangs of jealousy from the other Drag Race UK queens who weren’t hearing similar feedback. “I don’t know. In the Fugly Ball, none of them said mine was the best. I knew mine was up there, Alesha Dixon said ‘yours is incredible’, mine was fugly and fashion. None of the queens said my name, and I knew why. It’s because they didn’t want to give it to me!” She’s right. It literally was the best.

‘You have to push boundaries you didn’t think you could push’

It’s easy to look at Krystal Versace and assume she’s going to be a Drag Race UK queen that’s just a fashion girl, but that would do her a disservice. She smashed all kinds of challenges this season and surprised everyone. “I surprised myself! I honestly didn’t know I could do what I ended up doing and you push yourself so much. You push boundaries you don’t even think you can push.”

Fashion is what she did like no other queens this season, and I was interested to know where her inspirations came from. “A lot of it just comes to me. I make a lot of mood boards, finding stuff and saving it and then giving it my twist. The Cruella look just was an immediate no hesitation choice.

‘The top four was the clique’

This has been one of the closest casts ever, so I asked Krystal who she’s closest with. “Now, I’m closest to Anubis, my best gal. She’s literally sitting there.” Anubis shouts a hello from off camera, it’s very sweet. “But during the show, definitely the top four, that was the clique.” The top four spent a lot of time together with double saves near the final and their friendship is clear. “During the timeframe it felt very much like a competition, it was all new and nobody knew each other very well. People were leaving quickly and it was hard to create relationships. Once the top four happened and we got closer we all just relaxed into it and had fun.”

Krystal’s highlight of the season? “So many moments! Ru’s compliments will always stand out to me. I’m so happy with my runways too, most of them anyway!” Finally, I asked Krystal how she’s going to spend her reign. “Well I got no money to spend, so I’m going to sell that bloody crown! But other than that I just want to tour the world, show everyone my drag, my art and be up there with the best of the best.”

Special thanks to Imogen Reid and Aoife Kilbane from the BBC. Featured image courtesy of BBC.

Catch up on Drag Race UK now on BBC iPlayer. For all the latest Drag Race memes and Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.

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