Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines. A discussion about season 2 of RuPauls Drag Race UK is about to begin. Glue on that lash, slip on those heels and may the best StageSide queen… Read to the end.
[Insert Drag Race theme song here]
RuPauls Drag Race is one of those shows that has slowly, to begin with, trickled into the majority of homes across the UK, if not the world. You may be a day one fan, starting with season one. Or you might have started watching when they finally cleaned those cameras. Either way, I would bet that most of us have a favourite queen that appeared on the TV show.
My Drag Race adventure began with season 4. I already knew of Willam and so I came to the show through them. Of course, I went back and watched the older seasons, but season 4 is really where it’s at for me. I don’t know if I have a favourite overall queen but I do have favourites from each season.
We fast forward, from my start at season 4, through nine regular US seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race, four or five RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars seasons, two seasons of Drag Race Thailand, one season of Drag Race Holland, one season of Canada’s Drag Race, one season of Celebrity Drag Race, one RuPaul’s Drag Race Holislay Spectacular and one season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK as well as hundreds of episodes of Untucked…
And we begin a new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, for those of us who still aren’t satisfied.
This season has been full of scandal, yes I am talking about the cone of chips runway. The show has also seen a lot of drama, comedy, campness, energy and emotional acceptance speeches. Now the winner has been crowned, I think I should now be safe to talk about the season. If you still haven’t seen it, please don’t be angry with me. The winner is crowned and the Episode aired a week ago. Though there will be no spoiler as to who won, this post will talk about 2 challenges in particular.
This post specifically will talk about a queen near and dear to my heart, and my home. This queen entered the competition with the attitude of, I am the best, so bring it. She wasn’t far off, in my opinion. I am of course talking about Cherry Valentine.
Darlo queen, Cherry Valentine.
This queen is from Darlington (or Darlo as we call it), which is also my home town. In both runways, Cherry embodied the typical Darlo citizen, whilst also creating a unique and fresh character. Darlington is a small town, known for its railways and greasy kebab shops. There really isn’t much to Darlington. As Cherry said in Meet the Queens “the only thing about Darlington is, it’s got a massive clock” (BBC 3 YouTube video). I think everyone in Darlington knew what she was talking about, and we love the big clock too.
In Episode one, the queens were tasked with serving two looks. They had to present “a Gay Icon inspired look and a Hometown look” (RuPaul’s Drag Race Fandom). Cherry came out “feeling the Steampunk Victorian fantasy” (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK episode 1 runway) and I was feeling that fantasy too. Not only is this a very well put together version of our town clock, which looks old and has dodgy dealings happen near it, but the little details on Cherry’s outfit really make this special. The CowCatcher (yes I had to google what it was called) on Cherry’s back and the smoke and ash… just brilliant. Of course the other girls also did a fantastic job, but I think Cherry really sold Darlington with this runway.
The next episode was the Rusical, which seems to be a frequently occurring challenge now. Cherry was asked to sashay away after her performance in Rats, the Rusical. Was she the next Meryll Streep? No, that is of course Bimini Bon-Boulash, but I don’t think she was terrible.
The Runway Cherry’s Surprise, Surprise runway look was also one of my favourites. Her runway was classic Darlo Drag. Big garment that reveals something practical underneath. This is Darlo drag.
Her lip sync to Memory, from Cats, was a bit lacking in emotion. But let’s be honest, if you were given the choice of I need a Hero, or Memory… which would you choose? I would pick a bassy high energy song. I was sad to see Cherry go home so soon, and I was looking forward to seeing what else she had to offer.
Cherry Valentine, who technically was the second queen who had to sashay away also, technically placed 12th out of the 12 girls (CHERRY WOZ ROBBED). After Joe Black was voted back on to the show, only to show us an off the rack dress from (Whispers) H&M, Cherry was now the first queen who was kicked off and wasn’t brought back. Not only do I think this is wrong, but I also think her attitude, when asked why she should return, was the best. I would want to compete against someone who thought the time off let them better themselves and they were going to BRING IT! But anyway, I shall not start an argument. It is TV afterall.
Cherry in Lockdown.
During the Lockdown period, when filming had to stop and the queens were sent home, Cherry continued her day (and sometimes night) time job as a mental health nurse. In the Queens on Lockdown episode, we got to see just how much the pandemic was affecting all of the queens. Of course, all of the queens are in their own situations with their own issues and unique qualities. But I found it heart warming that Cherry was out there, working to help those in need. Of course, this is her job, but while many of us were at home waiting for Drag Race to start again, they were out helping people. I just want to take a minute and thank Cherry and all of the NHS staff and essential workers out there that kept the UK floating throughout the pandemic.
Do I think that RuPaul put Darlington on the map? Not really, but Cherry sure did! For those that didn’t know Darlington before, they sure will now. If nothing else they will know we have a massive clock and we are all really proud of it.
Have your say!
What did you guys think of this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK? Who was your favourite? Did you have a favourite challenge?
Let me know in the comments section below. Please remember to be kind to each other, and the queens, and respect each other’s opinions and beliefs. You don’t have to agree with them, but we are all people and all should be treated with respect and kindness.
Check out our terms and conditions page, to learn more about our policies here at StageSideUK.
(Image taken from Radio Times, available here.)