Today BBC Three have announced that Michelle Visage will join RuPaul as the second judge confirmed for the UK version of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Visage has judged eight seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race and four seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars in the US and is an integral part of the show’s continued success. Visage and RuPaul have over 20 years of working history on a variety of projects, from their successful What’s the Tee podcast, to their top rated morning radio show, to over 100 episodes of their 90s talk show, The RuPaul Show.
In the first UK adaptation of the show, RuPaul will be on the lookout to crown one of the UK’s top drag artists the ‘Queen of Great Britain’. But, it will take more than just a wig and pair of heels to win as ten contestants take part in weekly challenges and face off against each other to keep themselves in the competition.
Speaking about joining the series, Visage said “We've been working tirelessly to bring the magic of RuPaul's Drag Race to my favourite city in the world: LONDON! I KNOW the UK has a wealth of talent to offer and I'm thrilled beyond belief to see these queens battle it out on the main stage, UK style! GOD SAVE THE QUEENS!”
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK will search for the best and brightest drag queens the UK has to offer. Through a series of challenges that will test the queen’s comedy, modelling, and acting skills, host RuPaul will crown the 'UK's Next Drag Superstar'.
RuPaul has previously said “It is a dream come true to extend our royal family to the United Kingdom with our partners at BBC Three. I am beyond excited to celebrate the massive charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent of the Queen’s queens. And before anyone asks, yes, we would be thrilled to have Meghan Markle join us, as we are already preparing a ‘Royal-Mother-To-Be’ runway challenge.”
Contestants will compete in individual or team challenges that test a specific drag queen skill before taking on the Maxi Challenge, the headline moment of each show where they may be required to perform, model in a photo shoot, prepare a runway look for a themed challenge before having to face the judges, with one contestant each week eliminated and asked to “Sashay Away”.
Executive Producers and World of Wonder co-founders Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey spoke about Michelle's signing and said “Michelle has worked tirelessly to help bring Drag Race to the UK, we are grateful she is part of our family. She is a quadruple threat; she sings, she dances, she acts, and boy, can she judge! Queens beware!”
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK will air in 2019 on BBC Three