RuPaul's Drag Race UK: Sashay and Slay

Season five of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK has drawn to a close after an incredible season of sashaying and slaying on BBC Three. 

Although relatively new to Drag Race, for the past few months I’ve been a loyal follower and have made it my mission to watch as many seasons as possible whilst getting a degree. In the past, my friends would obsess over it, claiming it was the best show in existence. I didn’t realise until this year, how greatly I’d been missing out. 

Out of all the seasons of Drag Race UK, season two was (obviously) my absolute favourite. I say obviously because season two was outlandish – set during the COVID-19 pandemic, the first few episodes ran as normal before RuPaul made the shock announcement that the show was being put on hold for eight months. When they started up again, the Queens were bigger and better than ever with new wardrobes, new skills, and the odd botox injection here and there. Season Two gave us icons such as Awhora, Bimini Bon-Boulash, and Tayce – it was always going to be difficult for me to connect with a different group of Queens the way I did them. 

From the very first episode, season five did not disappoint. With a talented, entertaining cast, including USA-born Cara Melle, Cornish princess Vicki Vivacious and ambitious youngster, DeDeLicious, the season was cast for success. 

One of my favourite parts of Drag Race is watching the Queens enter the Werk Room. In season two, my favourite entrance was Awhora dressed as a very rogue Dorothy Gale. This year, my favourite entrances were split between Cara Melle, who commanded the Werk Room’s attention like an Amazonian warrior, and the beautiful Tomara Thomas – the first Queen to enter. 

One notable difference between this season of Drag Race and its predecessors was that I was never completely sure of who the front-runner was as it changed from week to week. One week Banskie would blow away the competition with her handkerchief romper, and the next Michael Marouli would capture the nation’s heart during the makeover challenge. As always, my favourite episode of this season was the Girl Group challenge – purely due to ‘Don’t Ick My Yum’ being such an iconic tune.

While there were a few Queens that I was rooting for, one absolutely, unequivocally stole my heart: Tomara Thomas. I don’t know what it was about her – the fashion, the beauty, or the personality – most likely all three, but from the moment I saw her give LEG during her entrance, I was captivated. Every single episode brought tears to my eyes from laughing uncontrollably during her confessionals. A special shoutout is due to her Snatch Game performance as Mrs Doubtfire – so random, yet so brilliant and so Tomara. There’s no coincidence that my two favourite UK drag queens, Awhora, and Tomara Thomas happen to be best friends of ten years and flatmates. My experience watching Drag Race has taught me that I love a fashion queen (Bimini, Tayce, Naomi Smalls, Venus, Denim.) 

From around episode five onwards, I felt that it became fairly obvious that Ginger Johnson was a fierce contender, and most likely to win. Despite that, it didn’t stop the season from being hilarious, engaging and full of surprises and there is no doubt that Ginger deserved to win – the girl CLEARED the competition week after week. RuPaul was in love with Ginger, and all the finalists to be honest.

The finalists, who dubbed themselves the Angels of the North, consisted of Ginger Johnson, Michael Marouli, and Tomara Thomas. Since the finale episode, they have announced a UK and Australian tour for 2024. Tickets are on sale now and can be found through their social media.