RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 2)
The second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK began airing on 14 January 2021 on the BBC Three section of BBC iPlayer and World of Wonder's WOW Presents Plus streaming service.[1] The season was confirmed and casting was closed on 15 November 2019.[2] Production was suspended mid 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production of the second series had since resumed, with filming concluding late 2020. The cast of 12 new queens was announced on 16 December 2020 and the series premiered on 14 January 2021.[3] It was also announced a special episode RuPaul's Drag Race UK: Queens on Lockdown would air, following the queens during the first lockdown.[4]
| RuPaul's Drag Race UK | |
|---|---|
| Series 2 | |
 Promotional poster for series two | |
| Hosted by | RuPaul |
| Judges | |
| No. of contestants | 12 |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Three / BBC One (UK) WOW Presents Plus (International) |
| Original release | 14 January 2021 – present |
| Series chronology | |
Contestants
The cast was announced on 16 December 2020.[4]
Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| A'Whora | 24 | Worksop, England | TBA |
| Bimini Bon-Boulash | 26 | Norwich, England | |
| Ellie Diamond | 21 | Dundee, Scotland | |
| Lawrence Chaney | 23 | Glasgow, Scotland | |
| Sister Sister | 31 | Liverpool, England | |
| Tayce | 25 | Newport, Wales | |
| Tia Kofi | 30 | Essex, England | |
| Veronica Green | 34 | Rochdale, England | |
| Ginny Lemon | 31 | Worcester, England | 9th Place[lower-alpha 1] |
| Asttina Mandella | 27 | East London, England | 10th Place |
| Cherry Valentine | 26 | Darlington, England | 11th Place |
| Joe Black | 30 | Brighton, England | 12th Place |
- Forfeited the lip sync challenge by exiting the stage during the performance.
Contestant progress
| Contestant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A'Whora | SAFE | SAFE | HIGH | HIGH |
| Bimini Bon-Boulash | BTM2 | SAFE | HIGH | HIGH |
| Ellie Diamond | HIGH | HIGH | SAFE | SAFE |
| Lawrence Chaney | HIGH | LOW | WIN | WIN |
| Sister Sister | LOW | SAFE | HIGH | BTM2 |
| Tayce | SAFE | BTM2 | SAFE | SAFE |
| Tia Kofi | SAFE | HIGH | BTM2 | SAFE |
| Veronica Green | SAFE | WIN | HIGH | LOW |
| Ginny Lemon | SAFE | SAFE | LOW | QUIT |
| Asttina Mandella | WIN | SAFE | ELIM | |
| Cherry Valentine | SAFE | ELIM | ||
| Joe Black | ELIM | |||
- The contestant won the challenge.
- The contestant received positive critiques and was ultimately declared safe.
- The contestant received critiques but was ultimately declared safe.
- The contestant received negative critiques but was ultimately declared safe.
- The contestant was in the bottom two.
- The contestant was eliminated.
- The contestant was in the bottom two, and decided to quit the competition.
- The contestant returned as a guest for that episode.
Lip syncs
| Episode | Lip sync contestants | Song | Eliminated | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bimini Bon-Boulash | vs. | Joe Black | "Relax" (Frankie Goes to Hollywood) |
Joe Black |
| 2 | Cherry Valentine | vs. | Tayce | "Memory" (Elaine Paige) |
Cherry Valentine |
| 3 | Asttina Mandella | vs. | Tia Kofi | "Don't Start Now" (Dua Lipa) |
Asttina Mandella |
| 4 | Ginny Lemon | vs. | Sister Sister | "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (Kim Wilde) |
Ginny Lemon |
- The contestant was eliminated after their first time in the bottom two.
- The contestant was in the bottom two and quit from the competition when the lip sync started.
Guest judges
- Elizabeth Hurley, actress, businesswoman and model
- Sheridan Smith, actress and singer
- Jourdan Dunn, model and actress
- Lorraine Kelly, TV presenter
- MNEK, singer[5]
- Dawn French, actress, comedienne, writer and presenter[6]
- Maya Jama, TV presenter [6]
- Jessie Ware, singer[6]
Special guests
Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
- Gemma Collins, media personality and businesswoman[7]
- Natalie Cassidy, EastEnders actress[8]
- Raven, runner-up on both the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the first season of All Stars[8]
Episode 1
- Kevin McDaid, photographer
Episode 2
- Dane Chalfin, vocal coach
- Jay Revell, choreographer
- Kieran Daley Ward, choreographer
Episode 3
- Jodie Harsh, drag queen and DJ music producer
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "Royalty Returns" | 14 January 2021 | |
|
The award winning RuPaul's Drag Race UK returns for a second series. Over the course of ten weeks, twelve of the country's most fabulous drag queens will compete to be crowned the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar. In this premiere episode, the queens enter the work room for the first time and quickly take on their first challenge - a tennis photoshoot. And then for the main challenge, the queens are asked to serve two looks on the runway. Actress and fashion icon Elizabeth Hurley joins Michelle Visage and Graham Norton on the judging panel as the first queen sashays away from the competition.
| ||||
| 10 | 2 | "Rats: The Rusical" | 21 January 2021 | |
|
After Joe Black's elimination, the queens talk about what happened on last week's episode. For the mini challenge, the contestants have to elect a Drag Race cabinet in the categories Secretary of Shade, Trade Minister, Leader of the House of Loading It Up and Baroness Basic. Respectively A'Whora, Tayce, Lawrence Chaney and Tia Kofi won in those categories. For the main challenge the contestants have to perform in Rats: The Rusical, after getting vocal coaching by Michelle Visage and learning the choreography from Jay Revell and Kieran Daley Ward. On the main stage the contestants have to showcase a look in the category Surprise, Surprise. A'Whora, Astinna Mandella, Bimini Bon-Boulash, Ginny Lemon and Sister Sister are safe, while Ellie Diamond, Tia Kofi and Veronica Green were praised for their work. Cherry Valentine, Lawrence Chaney and Tayce were critiqued, with Lawrence Chaney not having to lip sync. Veronica Green won the challenge, while Cherry Valentine and Tayce lip-synced to the song "Memory" by Elaine Paige. Cherry Valentine had to leave the competition.
| ||||
| 11 | 3 | "Who Wore It Best?" | 28 January 2021 | |
|
In the mini challenge at the beginning of the episode the queens had to limbo in quick drag. For the main challenge, the queens choose their drag sister. In the five teams of two, the queens have to create looks with the same colors and fabrics as your drag sister. The winners of the of mini challenge, Tayce and Veronica Green, get to assign the colors to the duos. A'Whora and Tayce get the color black, Ginny Lemon and Sister Sister get pink, Tia Kofi and Veronica Green get green, Asttina Mandella and Bimini Bon-Boulash get blue, and Ellie Diamond and Lawrence Chaney get gold. While creating their looks, RuPaul reveals that from the duos, one queen will wear it best, and the other queen will be in the bottom. On the main stage, A'Whora, Bimini Bon-Boulash, Lawrence Chaney, Sister Sister and Veronica Green wore it best, with Lawrence Chaney winning the challenge. After untucking in the workroom, Ellie Diamond and Tayce are declared safe. Ginny Lemon received some negative critiques, but was ultimately declared safe. Asttina Mandella and Tia Kofi lipsync to "Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa. Asttina Mandella had to sashay away.
| ||||
| 12 | 4 | "Morning Glory" | 4 February 2021 | |
|
In the mini challenge, the queens had to present a cake as if it was your own in the Great British Fake-Off. Bimini Bon-Boulash won the mini challenge and was, because of that, able to choose her own role for the main challenge. In the main challenge the queens had to co-host in an all new daytime television show Morning Glory. On the main stage, the queens served looks in a Monster Mashup runway theme. Ellie Diamond, Tayce and Tia Kofi were declared safe. After the judges discussed, A'Whora, Bimini Bon-Boulash and Lawrence Chaney were praised for their work, with Lawrence Chaney winning the challenge. Ginny Lemon, Sister Sister, and Veronica Green received negative critiques. Ginny Lemon and Sister Sister had to lip-sync to the song "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by Kim Wilde, though Ginny Lemon left the stage as soon as the song started and quit the competition.
| ||||
References
- Nolfi, Joey (15 December 2020). "RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 2 sets premiere, will air alongside season 13". Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- Ashurst, Sam (2 December 2019). "RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 2 audition, casting air date, trailer and everything you need to know". Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- Harp, Justin (18 March 2020). "RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 2 halts filming due to coronavirus pandemic". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- Damshenas, Sam (16 December 2020). "RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 2: Meet the 12 fierce contestants". Gay Times. Gay Times. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- "Five new guest judges confirmed for Drag Race UK". Instagram. RuPaul's Drag Race UK. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- "Three more new guest judges confirmed for Drag Race UK". Instagram. RuPaul's Drag Race UK. 27 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- Smith, Reiss (14 December 2020). "Drag Race UK signs up TOWIE star and legendary diva Gemma Collins for season two". Pink News. Pink News. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- "Cameo appearances from some extra special guests". Instagram. RuPaul's Drag Race UK. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
