Danny Beard on British drag, Queer as Folk and why they wanted to ‘poison’ Cheddar on Drag Race UK
Danny Beard (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty)
The reigning queen of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK on the beauty of British drag, moving to Manchester to get rimmed, and why they wanted to “poison” their season four sister Cheddar Gorgeous.
After slaying the competition in the fourth series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, the first bearded queen to sashay into the UK werkroom made it to the grand finale alongside formidable queens Jonbers Blonde, Black Peppa and Cheddar Gorgeous.
Having snatched four RuPeter badges apiece over the course of the season, the race for the crown was widely regarded to be a two-horse race between Danny and Cheddar. But after an epic lip sync to Dame Shirley Bassey’s “This Is My Life”, RuPaul finally inducted the Scouse queen into the UK’s hall of fame in November 2022 ≠ and the rest, as they say, is herstory.
While at DragConUK 2023, the UK’s next drag superstar caught up with PinkNews to discuss life in the winner’s circle, the biggest misconceptions around her persona, and what she used to get up to in the aisles of Tesco…
PinkNews: What is your favourite thing about British drag in comparison to other countries?
Danny Beard: I just think we aren’t afraid to take the piss out of ourselves. And therefore we’re not afraid to take the piss out of each other. I hate the word banter, because it’s very hetty-fied, and it makes me think of heterosexual people – not that there’s anything wrong with them, I just don’t agree with their lifestyle.
But I just think it’s fun. Fun is at the at the forefront of British drag. And I love having fun. And I know my audiences love having fun. And other than that – we’re the best.
PN: What is the biggest misconception about Danny Beard?
DB: I feel like I was very honest and true to myself on Drag Race; I’m a sassy, shady, singing, cartoon clown, and I lived like that. I went round Tesco, reading people in the aisles.
I don’t think people understand that. There’s a persona, and there’s a person behind the persona. But hopefully, people have got to see the person behind the persona on Drag Race.
PN: If you could do anything different during your season of Drag Race, what would it be?
DB: Probably poison Cheddar early on, so I could have taken more badges. But other than that, nothing. I really enjoyed it.
PN: LGBT History Month is coming up and the theme is ‘Behind the Lens‘. Is there a queer TV series or film that you remember seeing as a young kid?
DB: I remember seeing – who’s that character off Queer as Folk? – get rimmed. Charlie Hunnam? I remember watching Queer as Folk in the middle of the night in my room.
And it was set in Manchester and I was like, ‘I’m going to move to Manchester,’ and I moved to Manchester and it was nothing like Queer as Folk. And I’m still yet to be rimmed in an apartment by a hot man.
PN: Finally, if you could give a message to our current administration, particularly about LGBTQ+ rights, what would it be?
DB: F**k off.
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