It is crazy to think that it has been almost a year since the last season of drag race UK was won by the iconic Danny Beard (who we were actually lucky enough to see perform at the Sherman Theatre which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2023/06/11/danny-beard-performance-review/) who interestingly opted to do an after show show for this season of drag race rather than the digital series usually offer the winners. What is even more shocking is that it has been almost four years since the first ever season of Drag Race UK was won by the Vivienne (who we saw at Brighton Pride and you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2023/08/10/brighton-pride-day-two-experience-review/) and now we have a new bunch of British queens entering the werk room with the hopes of claiming the crown.
The first queen to enter this season was none other than Tomora Thomas who is probably most well known for appearing in the Eurovision video message a few years ago! I thought that the black and white ensemble she decided to wear was beautiful with every element matching which shows that she had thought carefully about every aspect of this outfit. From first impressions, I can tell that she is an extremely charismatic personality who has and I have no doubt will continue to deliver hilarious confessionals! Next to enter the werk room was Banksie who worked on in a massive fur coat with a wonderful train draping behind her. It was once she removed this coat to reveal a sparkly outfit literally dropping off her body that she truly showcased her model tendencies! Banksie is the drag child of the running up of Drag Race UK season four Cheddar Gorgeous (who we were able to see perform at the glee club which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2023/06/14/party-monsters-tour-production-review/) and so the pressure to perform well this season must be immense. Next up was Miss Noami Carter who entered in a pretty pastel purple gown with gorgeous puffy sleeves. However, the thing that really surprised me about this queen was her natural voice. She has a really deep voice with a deep doncastian Accent which really contrasted the glamorous outfit she put together. The next queen entering the competition was Michael Marouli who discussed later in the episode that the reason for his drag name Micheal is because that is also his real name and he doesn’t believe in the differentiation between his day-to-day self and his drag alter-ego. We were then introduced the Kate Butch which is an obvious pun on the ‘running up that hill’ singer. They made a point to explain how they are not like the other queens as they are a stand-up comedian but I have to admit that at first her humour appeared very forced and laboured. However, once she settled and began chatting with the other queens we began to see the more relaxed and comfortable comedy reveal itself.
My favourite entrance on this episode however would have to be Cara Mell who is probably most well known for being a dance coach on Rob and Romesh take on drag! She looked absolutely gorgeous in her aqua-man-inspired, goddess look and the ferocity she Maintained throughout was almost frightening. From first impressions, I think this is a queen to keep an eye on as she is guaranteed to go far in the competition. Cara is breaking boundaries this season as she is the first trans person of colour on this season but also is competing against someone she shares a room with back home Tomora. At an almost complete contrast to the fierce, supermodel-ness of Cara is Ginger Johnson who from the first step established herself as a seasoned comedy queen. She entered the werk room is a vibrant orange and green dress was a wonderful wig with the entrance line “That toilet is blocked” which actually made me laugh out loud! I think my favourite look of this episode was worn by Dede Licious who was the next queen to enter the race. She wore a wonderful blue and gold jumpsuit with gorgeous puffy sleeves with a golden-lined train. The make-up was absolutely stunning which makes sense when it was revealed that she is the drag sister of Drag Race UK season three winner Krystal Versace which again adds a ton of pressure for Dede to do well. Next up was Vicky Vivacious who wore a very classically beautiful black and white dress that gave very Joan Collins sort of energy. She completed this look with a unique pasty purse that was her way of telling the world that she is from Cornwall. What is particularly interesting about Vicky is the fact that she made a name for herself performing in naval bases which will be an important fact to keep in mind as the review goes on! The final queen to complete this season’s cohorts is everyone’s favourite Polish export Alexis St Pete (who we have actually seen perform in The Glee Club which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2022/07/22/red-wig-and-a-silver-dress-experience-review/) who looked absolutely amazing in her black vinyl outfit complete with massive blonde hair. She was channeling pure sex appeal which she even referenced in the runway this episode!
The first maxi challenge of Drag Race UK season five was the impressions ball where the queens had to showcase three unique looks that fitted a certain category. However, the first theme was daytime drag which was actually the clothes the queens were currently wearing. The judges had supposedly watched the queen’s entrance looks and this would form part of their overall presentations for the ball. While this is an interesting twist, I think that if I were competing I would have wanted a moment for the audience to appreciate my entrance look separately from the looks for the runway. The second category was in the club which also contained a unique twist as a plethora of international queens including Pagina Heels, lady Camden, Nicky Doll, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, Sminty Drop etc. were also invited to be a part of the judging panel as the queen strutted around a purpose-built stage. This category had a much heavier focus on the presentation and performance of the queens rather than the outfits they decided to showcase which again had never really been a part of the ball challenges before! Tomora was first up for the presentation in front of the intimidating international queens and she did not seem fazed in the slightest! She went all out, owning every inch of the stage which left many of the queens visibly scared to go after her. The one queen who did not seem fazed in the slightest however was Cara Mel who channeled her inner Beyonce as she strutted across the stage complete with a stunning split that left everyone totally gagged! Dede Licious got off to an absolutely perfect start as she busted out a beautiful duck walk and that move where someone throws themselves into the air and their legs fling behind their bodies as they carefully land on the floor. However, it quickly took a turn for the worst as her wig began to slide down her head which ended with her having to totally remove it to finish the routine. Similarly, Alexis gave the judges her classic sex appeal with a stunning whip routine and beautiful spinning splits. However, her presentation also went downhill as she appeared to stumble and almost fall off the runway.
The final runway category of the episode was fierce impressions where the Queens had to showcase an outfit that was totally them. My favourite look from this category would have to be Micheal who wore a wonderfully unique, punk-infused pride outfit. The main body of the outfit was a black leather outfit covered in intense spikes which created a gorgeous silhouette when paired with the tiny waist and exaggerated hips. The outer parts of this look had rainbow sequins which alongside the rainbow-streaked hair contrasted the punk elements flawlessly! Dede decided to use this runway to show off an element devil-inspired look complete with a massive red feathered headpiece/collar which to me gave very Elton John energy.
Vicki decided to pay homage to her military background as she wore a wonderfully exaggerated British guard outfit with massive hips and black thigh-high boots that created a dragged-up version of the classic guards you would see in London! One runway that didn’t quite go to plan was Tomora who wore a beautiful Angel-inspired outfit only for the wings to malfunction at the front of the runway. In all honesty, I don’t know what I would have done if my costume had begun falling apart on the stage but Tomora was able to style it out until she got off stage. In yet another twist for this opening episode, it was announced that Alexis, Ginger, Vicki, Cara and Micheal were all the top queens of the week. While I’m not against a group win in a group challenge, all of these queens received a mixed bag of feedback from the judges and so there were clearly better-performing queens in the bunch. It was then announced that Cara Mell and Vicki would be the two queens lip-syncing to win this week’s Ru Peter badge which is something I will never be able to fully get behind! Vicki gave a very classically camp, traditional dry style performance while Cara tried her best in her outfit but it was clear that Vicki was going to be the first winner this season as soon as the iconic “ooh ahh just a little bit” song started to play! I do however think that Cara was at a disadvantage due to the song choice and the outfit she wore and I imagine when given a Beyoncé style song she would absolutely dominate!
Overall, the opening episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK season five provided an excellent choice for the audience to get to know each queen individually with three distinct looks. Apart from the select few queens I have not been able to engage with yet, every queen was able to showcase their unique personalities and their style of fashion well leading to some quickly earned fan favourites being chosen. However, the forced twists did seem somewhat out of place and didn’t really add anything to the drama or storylines of the episode. I would rate this episode 4 out of 5 stars!
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