10 of the most gagworthy Drag Race UK moments of all time, including, of course, ‘F**king H&M’
Here are Drag Race UK’s most gagworthy moments (BBC/ World of Wonder)
Drag Race UK has included moments of cheek, nerve, gall audacity and gumption in its first five series – so here’s a roundup of the top ten.
Drag Race UK is soon to be back for season six, with an entirely new batch of queens ready to get their charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent out for RuPaul, and add to the canon of iconic quotes and moments from the Great Britain-based spinoff in front of entirely new guest judges.
Those queens have some big boots to fill – meme-wise, alone. Without further ado, here are some of the most gagworthy eliminations, Untucked fights, performances and queens of Drag Race UK.
The only Drag Race season with a half time break
Kicking off strongly, Drag Race UK‘s second season is still, across all 542 (note: not the actual number) spinoffs, the only offering where the competitors had to go home midway through filming.
To recap, there was a little thing called the Covid pandemic during production for the season, meaning that after episode four, all eight remaining queens were forced to hit the house until the situation was under control.
The return was sensational TV; Veronica Green got Covid and was swapped out for Joe Black, who then went home immediately, Sister Sister got new teeth, and Bimini came back to dominate the back end of the competition (as it were).
Dakota Schiffer’s elimination
The Drag Race makeover challenge is essentially a tool to get rid of whichever contestant production wants; we been knew. But never has the riggory been so clear as Dakota Schiffer’s elimination in season 4’s top six challenge.
Tasked with making over onset helpers the ‘Queen Team’, Dakota’s mod-60s look was gorgeous, and deserved to win, if we’re being honest. What it did not deserve was to send the queen home!
Also she should have won Snatch Game, but let’s not get into it.
Scarlett Harlett’s Untucked strop
Tensions are heightened on Drag Race UK, we get it. But unfortunately for the assembled queens, that often means some really good TV.
Following a ‘”who should go home tonight, and why?” question in which every single season three queen nominated Scarlett Harlett for the chop, the queens untucked, and things kicked off.
“I’m not interested in talking, thanks,” followed by Scarlett sulking in a corridor looking like Cruella de Vil after a call from PETA. Really funny.
Victoria Scone
Drag Race UK season three made herstory by having, at the time, the first ever AFAB queen across the entire franchise – not just the UK. Though many have followed (including Drag Race Germany‘s winner Pandora Nox), Victoria Scone did the damn thing first.
She murdered the first episode, landing in the top two against Krystal Versace, and enamoured countless fans in her criminally short run time before departing due to injury. Also, let’s not forget that she also accidentally stole a stool in the first few minutes of episode one.
Victoria then made the top four on Canada Vs. The World‘s first season.
Banskie’s runway departure
She wasn’t going to leave without walking that runway one more time.
Seven-foot supermodel Banksie was eliminated after Drag Race UK‘s fifth season, but took the opportunity to let the girls know exactly who they’d be missing, pumping down the main stage after her elimination; iconic.
Banksie also gets bonus points for storming out of Untucked the week prior, and telling everyone to “f**k off”, after being a “lamb to slaughter” on the main stage. Love British drag. Love it!
Vicki Vivacious’s reign of terror
Another season five moment to make the list of Drag Race UK‘s most gagworthy moments, was when Cornwall’s Vicki Vivacious returned after her elimination for the season’s reunion episode to bring up beef from – quite literally – weeks prior.
After her elimination, Vicki wrote “love most of you” in her mirror message, with confusion over who the dig was actually directed at.
Weeks later, Vicki returned and (fairly out of the blue) revealed that Dede Licious “left such a bad taste in her mouth” because Dede had told Alexis that she thought she was in the bottom on episode one. It was so random. So random. Who put fifty pence in Vicki!?
Ginny Lemon’s BenDeLaCreme tribute act
Though Baby followed suit in season four, Ginny Lemon was the first UK queen to self-eliminate – mid lipsync, no less.
It was Sister Sister versus the yellow bombshell, but a solo number ensued to “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” by Kim Wilde (with Sister whipping “the thinnest ponytail of all time” around after the music started and Ginny walked to the back of the stage, laughed, and hit the house.
Now that’s punk rock.
The Miss Fugly Beauty Pageant
Season three, featuring Global All Stars‘ Kitty Scott-Claus, had some challenge hits and misses; Ella Vaday’s Nigella Lawson in Snatch Game, the top four “Slag Wars” challenge for the former and the infamous “Draglexa” flop for the latter.
But in one of the most bats**t challenges ever on Drag Race UK, The Miss Fugly Beauty Pageant was done on a strict time limit, and backstage cameras followed the divas on their backstage antics.
Charity Shop Sue was also there, and we got Vanity Milan (feat. Scarlett) lipsyncing to Mis-teeq. Slay.
A red wig and a silver dress? I don’t think
Season one was gagworthy by sheer virtue of being the first ever Drag Race UK offering, but tensions boiled over between season winner The Vivienne and Divina De Campo when the former said that the latter had exceeded her expectations in the competition.
Viv said that for the past ten years, she’d seen Divina in “a red wig and a silver dress” prompting the iconic response: “A red wig and a silver dress? I don’t think.”
Blu and Cheryl gagged in the corner and Baga peering through a costume rack heightened the experience.
H&M-gate
We’ve finally arrived at the iconic: “I don’t want to see no f**king H&M“.
To rewind, Joe Black returned after season two’s half time break, to wear an H&M dress in the Maxi Challenge; and RuPaul was not impressed.
“We’re looking for Great Britain’s next superstar. Don’t waste my time. I don’t wanna see any f**king H&M. I came all the way across the pond. I want more. I want more.”
If you looked up gagworthy in the dictionary, you’d see this.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK returns to BBC iPlayer “soon”.
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