The UK is once again host to RuPaul's Drag Race vs The World, which sees drag queens from all over the world compete to become “Queen of the Mothertucking World!”
Hosting duties moved to Canada for 2022’s series, where the main distinction seemed to be that the winner was crowned “Queen of the Motherpucking World.”
Unlike the regular series of Drag Race, the power to make someone ‘sashay away’ is not in RuPaul’s hands. At the end of each challenge, the top two contestants lip-sync for the chance to not only win the episode, but to choose which of the worst performing queens to expel. In previous series, this has knocked out some top performing fan favourites early in the competition.
Let’s meet the global glamazons ready to race for the crown a second time…
Arantxa Castilla-La Mancha, 26
Spain - series one
Pronouns in drag: She/her
Pronouns out of drag: She/her
Arantxa describes herself as the Spanish Hannah Montana, not because of her extensive wardrobe and being “young, dumb, blonde and fun”, but because their names are technically similar. Castilla-La Mancha is a Spanish region, and Arantxa is a Hannah-esque popular name in Spain.
Since her original run on Drag Race España, Arantxa has come out as transgender, saying the change in her life has made her feel “so much better and so much more confident.”
Hannah Conda, 31
Australia – series two
Pronouns in drag: She/her
Pronouns out of drag: He/him
Hannah Conda fixed her reputation as a Drag Race icon after her winning Liza Minnelli impression in the Snatch Game – an impressive feat given that RuPaul is a big fan of the multi-award-winning performance artist and Arrested Development star.
Hannah has an insidious method for victory. She plans to gain the other girls' trust by being a “friend to everyone” and “slithering into their hearts.”
“I will do anything it takes to win this. Anything! Where's Ru's trailer? I want the crown. Give it to me. Give it to me now.”
Keta Minaj, 40
Holland – series two
Pronouns in drag: She/her
Pronouns out of drag: He/him
Keta is already drag royalty over in Holland, referred to as ‘the duchess’ in Amsterdam’s scene. The champion gymnast got kicked off her series just before the finale, and is now back to claim what is “rightfully hers.”
Maybe she'll earn herself an aristocratic nickname in the UK scene in the process.
Marina Summers, 26
Philippines – series one
Pronouns in drag: She / her
Pronouns out of drag: He /him
Marina Summers, so named because she loves the beach and summer, was a finalist in the first series of Drag Race Philippines and is the first Filipina to compete on the world stage.
This fact is not lost on Marina: “I come here not as one, but representing the whole Filipina population.” The weight of carrying the Philippines on her back doesn’t seem to be getting to her though: “Life is short... and so am I, but don’t be fooled by the looks, crown me. Summer is coming!”
Jonbers Blonde, 34
UK – series four
Pronouns in drag: She/her
Pronouns out of drag: He/him
Since her time on series four, Jonbers has made a cameo alongside Billie Piper in I Hate Suzie and got a “face full of filler”, although she still has her “heart of Irish gold.” Jonbers made it right up to the finish line in her first visit to the werkroom, and is back with a “lick of paint” to “fight against the best of the best.”
Her viewpoint on returning is: “If you come back, you don’t come back to play it safe, you’ve got to smash it in the –.” (Those who watched Jonbers in her original series can hazard a guess at the end of that sentence).
Mayhem Miller, 41
USA – series 10
Pronouns in drag: She/her
Pronouns out of drag: He/him
Mayhem Miller has become a Drag Race staple, having appeared on both Drag Race series 10 and Drag Race: All Stars series five. Having never made it into the top five in her previous series, Mayhem is hoping this year will be her year: “I have not won a crown yet, but that was on purpose. Everyone thinks that she lost, but really, I was being strategic - I wanted to wait and talk on the world stage.
“Now, that is iconic.”
Scarlet Envy, 31
USA – series 11
Pronouns in drag: She/her
Pronouns out of drag: They/them, she/her
You may recognise her from series 11 of Drag Race USA, series six of Drag Race: All Stars, or from her iconic line “is it me, am I the drama?”, which has over 30,000 videos of people miming it on TikTok, including Lady Gaga and American Horror Story’s Sarah Paulson.
Scarlet Envy plans to stick around a little longer than she did in her original series, although she’s afraid of the British humour: “It’s very dry and very smart – mine is dumb!”
La Grande Dame, 24
France – series one
Pronouns in drag: She/her
Pronouns out of drag: He/him
La Grande Dame is a self-referential drag name – ‘the tall lady’ stands at 6ft 5".
Although known for her impressive ‘lewks’ she also won the Snatch Game, proving she’s not just a pretty face. Her presentation does, however, remain important for the French drag scene: “My runway looks are custom made, my shoes are 3D printed, and my lewks are fresh! This is what it is to be a French queen.”
Gothy Kendoll, 26
United Kingdom – series one
Pronouns in drag: She/her
Pronouns out of drag: They/them, he/him, she/her
Gothy Kendoll was the first ever queen to be eliminated on a UK series of Drag Race. Despite not completing a single challenge, Gothy has managed to make a name for herself with both her drag and music career – describing herself as “the David Guetta of drag.”
Since her first crack at Drag Race, Gothy has got her “teeth done”, “nicer outfits” and “bigger wigs.” To put it simply, she’s the “fully realised version of Gothy.”
Tia Kofi, 33
UK – series two
Pronouns in drag: She/her
Pronouns out of drag: They/them, she/her
Although Tia Kofi stunned Drag Race series two audiences with her emotional performance as a lab mouse with a giant ear on its back in “Rats: The Rusical”, she found herself going home in episode six.
In series two, the other queens awarded her the title of “Baroness Basic”, and this time she’s ready to put this title behind her and have a “rudemption”: “I've had a glow up and now I’m ready to show up.”
Choriza May, 32
UK – series three
Pronouns in drag: She/her
Pronouns out of drag: He/him
To those who question Choriza’s legitimacy to represent the UK, being born and raised in Spain, Choriza May has one thing to say: “I started doing drag in Newcastle, so I'm as much as a UK queen as any of these other b*****s.”
Since her time on series three of Drag Race UK, Choriza has walked in Madrid fashion week and put on the (guest) judge's hat herself, appearing on Drag Race España. For all her successes over in Spain, Choriza’s philosophy on winning is still very Newcastle: “shy bairns get nowt.”
