Here they come! Meet the 12 sickening queens cast on Drag Race UK season four

It’s time. Gay Christmas is upon us. Season four of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is mere weeks away, and the cast of 12 queens lined up to battle it out and win the crown have finally been announced. And… they’re unreal. I know it’s early to say, but this cast of queens honestly looks like one of the greatest we’ve ever seen in the franchise and every queen feels like she could really go all the way. Start your engines girls, gays and theys: Meet the 12 queens in the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season four.

Baby 

Baby is a 25-year-old queen who describes herself as “London’s afro punk princess”. Talking about her drag, Baby says “My drag is pretty, punk and Black. I love to represent my culture and I love playing with in the area where black culture and alternative culture meet. Her name comes from being the youngest of five kids and always being referred to as the baby.

Baby’s drag started in Brighton, where she trained in musical theatre and considers herself a triple threat. A big name on the brunch and club scene in London, Baby says her weekends are filled with no sleep but she loves it – and as someone who’s seen Baby live and partied with her personally, we’re in for a blast. When asked why she deserves to be the UK’s next drag superstar, she says “I just have that spark! I have that flavour about me. I’m the girl who loves pop culture but also loves artsy stuff and I mash it together in a way that is so uniquely me  I’m one of a kind – you’ll definitely not find another Baby!”

Black Peppa

Black Peppa is from the Caribbean, but for the past few years has called Birmingham her home and has spent her time there becoming one of the biggest names in the UK drag scene. On Birmingham, she says “The drag scene is incredible. It’s such a melting pot of talented performers that includes drag queens, drag kings, and non-binary queens. Honestly, I think Birmingham has one of the best drag scenes in the UK.”

Her drag name comes from her love of spicy food and her mum’s own homemade hot pepper sauce – I need to try some NOW. Black Peppa has been doing drag for two and a half years and before committing to her craft full time she worked in a bank.

“If you come to a Black Peppa show, you’re going to be out of breath because I am going to give you splits, dips, death drops, and high jumps off the bar. you’re going to be in for such a good time. I love performing! I’m not just your average condiment inside your cupboard. If you sprinkle a little bit of me on your food, then you’re gonna want more! I just want to be able to show that the sky is the limit and your dreams are infinite.”

Cheddar Gorgeous

Manchester scene legend Cheddar Gorgeous is in the cast of Drag Race UK season four and I am SHAKING. She’s 38, but in her own words “I’m 488 years old. I’m a living spectacle, cultural icon and dressed as a Mancunian busy bee. I’ve been in Manchester for 16 years. I absolutely adore the city and whilst I‘m originally from Birmingham, I feel like Cheddar was very much manifested in Manchester.”

“My drag is a living spectacle. A collage of makeup, costume and performance. You could see anything at a Cheddar Gorgeous show as my drag is otherworldly and ethereal. Growing up, I was a bit of a geek and I was enamoured by aliens, gods, goddesses and strange monsters and now in my drag, I like to harness the energy of science fiction, fantasy and magic!”

Copper Topp

38-year-old Copper Topp hails from Cheltenham, and is the “feel good ginger” of drag! If you’re wondering what Copper Topp’s going to bring to the Drag Race UK season four cast metaphorical table, she says the following of what you can expect from her shows:

“Well, first and foremost it’s very camp and physical! Nobody expects it when a camp bird like me is singing and then suddenly jumps into the splits and everybody is gagged. You’re gonna laugh until you wet yourself and by the end of that night, you will probably slide into my DMs because let’s face it, she’s gorgeous!

“There are four people who inspire my drag. The first is Victoria Wood and the second is Julie Walters. I’m obsessed with them. And the third and fourth has to be The Cheeky Girls! I’ve got it all. I can act, I can sing. I can dance. I can host unlike anybody else. Drag is for everybody no matter how old you are and I’m repping it for the old fogies!”

Dakota Schiffer

“I’m Dakota Schiffer, I’m 22 years old, I’m from Sussex and I’m ecstatic to be making Drag Race herstory as the first trans girl to walk through the doors of Drag Race UK.

“The name Dakota comes from a cartoon reality show from the early 2000s called Total Drama and Schiffer of course, comes from the iconic 90s supermodel, Claudia Schiffer. I’m generation Z’s answer to Sharon Tate. My drag is a love letter to the 60’s and the 90’s. I’ve always been intrigued by the 60s and 90’s supermodel era and my number one Hollywood icon is Sharon Tate in Valley of The Dolls and I worship everything she’s ever been in – she’s such a style icon to me. My drag aesthetic is always beautiful and fashion first. ”

Dakota says her strengths are her hair, makeup and fashion sense. I mean… Look at the material, girlies. STUNNING.

Danny Beard

Shaking, crying, throwing up – it’s Danny Beard from Britain’s Got Talent and every Pride stage up and down the country! An icon is finally going into that Werk Room.

“I’m a Ru Girl! I can’t believe it! I love having a beard, mixing genders and putting them in the blender. My drag is about throwing the rulebook out the window. I work all around the country on the cabaret scene mixing club kid aesthetic with old school drag performance style. At my shows you get live vocals, interactive comedy and an hour’s worth of entertainment for a very reasonable fee!

“My biggest drag inspiration is Leigh Bowery who was a club kid from the 80s, I love him. I’ve got a tattoo of him on my arm. He pushed the boundaries of fashion. He pushed the boundaries of drag, and he pushed the boundaries of queer culture and I love a boundary pusher.”

Scouser who lives in Manc Danny is making herstory on season four as the first bearded queen cast on Drag Race UK! And I have a feeling they’re going to annihilate it!

Jonbers Blonde

Sickening Belfast queen Jonbers Blonde is joining the Drag Race UK season four cast. “In three words, I‘d describe my drag as high fashion pig. Oink oink!  I put myself into the fashion category. Although, I’m more than that, I’m a performer too. I love to perform. I’ve been around the world with Melanie C and I’ve danced as a backing performer for Years and Years and Jessie Ware. The list could go on! ”

Jonbers says her drag is inspired by an iconic combo of the 70s and The Muppets. “I can dance. I can move. I’ve got fashion skills. I’m not afraid to be silly. I’ve got a unique voice. You put all that together and you got this big muppet here! What more do you want? I really do have the fashion skills, as I’m also a stylist. I have worked at Vogue International and I have been fashion editor of several magazines. I’ve also walked the runways in London and Paris. ” Slay!

Just May

Just May is 32 and from Essex, and describes herself as “the world’s premier Geri Halliwell impersonator – that’s Ginger Spice for those that don’t know! I’ve made it to season 4, and  it’s about time,  because they need to put a crown on a ginger! ” A tribute act that I’m sure is going down a storm after Halliwell posted pictures with Nadine Dorries and Liz Truss.

“I wanted to do drag because Geri stopped being Ginger Spice and so I felt someone had to take over! Geri was always my favourite Spice Girl because she was the loud, bold, brash, bossy ginger one of the group and she just spoke to me on so many levels. The biggest misconception that people have about just me and my drag is that I will only do Geri. But sometimes, I wear a red wig without a blonde streak. Wild, I know.”

Le Fil

Le Fil hails from Brighouse like season one queen Divina De Campo – they were in the school choir together – and the 36-year-old describes herself as an “all singing, all dancing, Chinese pop star!”

On her drag, she says: “Le Fil is the intersection of art, fashion music and sculpture. I like the idea that I’m breaking genre, breaking gender and creating art. My background was in art and sculpture, and so I always aim to look like a walking piece of fine art!” Le Fil writes her own songs, sings them AND dances and acts.

“My strength in this competition is my eye for detail. I have studied hard to get here. I take notes and I’m going to use all my knowledge to beat the other queens. The other queens might underestimate me. They might not even see me because I’m only two foot four! But there is no way that I will fade into the background. ”

Pixie Polite

 

All eyes will be on 29-year-old Pixie to see if now she’s cast on season four she breaks the infamous Drag Race UK Brighton curse – her two Brighton predecessors Joe Black and Anubis sashayed away first!

“My outfit today is inspired by my hometown of Brighton. It is inspired by the iconic Brighton seafront. I spent a lot of time in my childhood wandering along that promenade, so why not dress up as a promenade?! It would be camp if I broke the drag race Brighton curse wouldn’t it?!

“I’m so excited. I think the world is ready for Pixie Polite to be the Queen of the UK, don’t you? It’s honestly a dream come true. I never thought a big ol’ camp cow like me would make it here but here I am! I’m very excited to get to all those challenges and shake my booty all over that Werk Room, honey!?”

Sminty Drop

Iconic queen from the Manchester scene Sminty Drop is chantaying into the Werk Room as she joins the cast of Drag Race UK season four – and the girls should be quaking.

“My drag look is Anna Faris in The House Bunny mixed with Megan Fox in Jennifer’s Body thrown into the adult sized body of a Bratz doll, who has crashed landed down from Doja Cat’s Planet Her.  I am literally the embodiment of contemporary British drag. My look isn’t just beauty pageant glamour. I ‘m so much more than sequins and tight gowns. I’m a fully conceived concept from head to toe.

“These Queens should be very worried about me. I’m not just a pretty face and body-ody-ody baby! I’m going to take that crown because I’ve got exactly what it takes to get it! I will slice, dice and chop up the runway in my nine inch heels and when I unpack my bags the other queens will wonder, ‘Oh god, should I just send myself home now?’ and I say ‘yes, yes you should!’”

Starlet

23-year-old Starlet is the 12th queen cast on season four of Drag Race UK – she’s Surrey based but hails from Johannesburg, South Africa. “I moved here with my family six years ago. Growing up in South Africa, I had very little understanding of LGBTQ+ culture and I’d never even seen a drag queen, but now I’m in the UK, that’s all changed!

“My drag name pays collective homage to all of my favourite old movie stars. They were all beautiful starlets dresses in stunning couture. My favourite starlets are Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Lana Turner, Grace Kelly and so many more!”

Starlet says on being a Ru Girl and joining the Drag Race UK family: “It feels amazing to be here. It’s something I’ve been waiting for my whole life. I genuinely love drag. It’s the first thing I think of in the morning when I wake up and the last thing I think of when I go to bed at night. Every second of the day, I’m thinking about my next look. It feels pretty good to be here. I’m getting a chance to live my fantasy.”

Watch the full Meet the Queens here.

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Series 4 returns to BBC Three and BBC iPlayer on 22nd September at 9pm.

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