Culture

‘The chaos I live for’: Drag Race UK viewers react to season 5 premiere

By Sam Damshenas

29th September 2023

Major spoilers ahead.

Viewers are “living” for the season five premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.

The search for ‘Britain’s Next Drag Superstar’ continued on Thursday (28 September) with 10 fierce new queens: Alexis Saint-Pete, Banksie, Cara Melle, DeDeLicious, Ginger Johnson, Kate Butch, Michael Marouli, Miss Naomi Carter, Tomara Thomas and Vicki Vivacious. (You can read our digital cover with all 10 queens here.)

For their first maxi-challenge, the queens were judged on three different looks: what they entered the werkroom in, ‘Club Tickety-Boo’ – which saw them perform on a runway in front of legendary alumni – and ‘Fierce Impressions’.

After sashaying down the main stage in the latter look, RuPaul announced that Banksie, DeDeLicious, Kate, Naomi and Tomara were safe, before delivering the following twist: no one is going home.

The remaining queens were all deemed “the tops” of the week, with Cara and Vicki as the top two. After lip-syncing “for the win” to Gina G’s camp pop classic ‘Ooh Ahh… Just a Little Bit’, RuPaul bestowed the season’s first RuPeter Badge to Vicki.

The premiere was lauded by fans, who were unanimous in praising two elements in particular: Kristen McMenamy, whose playful read to RuPaul on the runway has been hailed as the “most iconic thing a guest judge has ever said”, and Cara, who makes herstory as the British spin-off’s first Black trans contestant. 

“I AM and WILL BE obsessed with her from now on,” one fan tweeted with a clip of Cara performing at Club Tickety-Boo, while another called for the series to “give her the mf crown now”.

RuPaul’s decision to not eliminate a queen, allowing viewers to get to know the cast better in the process, was lauded. One viewer, who noted how the same decision was made for the Mexican, Brazilian and German versions, said “the more drag the better”.

Check out the best reactions to the Drag Race UK season five premiere below.

Drag Race UK airs every Thursday on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer at 9pm.

The After Shave, Danny Beard’s recap series, follows at 10.15pm.

Additional guest judges this season include Aisling Bea, Alexandra Burke, Cush Jumbo, Daphne Guinness, Joel Dommett, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Suranne Jones and Yasmin Finney, as well as cameos from Edward Enninful OBE, Carol Vorderman, Karen Hauer and Claudimar Neto.