Alexis Mateo, Cheryl Hole and Eureka are back! Refresh your memory on the 9 Queens returning to the werkroom for Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs The World.
Drag Race vs The World switches between the host countries of Canada and the UK, giving queens from the global franchise the chance to compete again – this time for $100,000 and the title of ‘Queen of the Mothertucking World.’
Although, this year, it’s ‘Queen of the Motherpucking World’, as Canada is taking back the hosting duties, meaning RuPaul will be judging alongside resident judges Brooke Lynn Hytes (Drag Race US series 11), Brad Goreski (Fashion Police) and Traci Melchor (etalk).
Whereas in a normal series of Drag Race the queens who placed last have to lip-sync to ‘save their lives’ (avoid elimination), in vs The World, the top two performers in that week’s challenge must fight it out. Whoever wins the lip-sync is given the power to eliminate their choice of worst performing Queen.
Read on to reacquaint yourself with the returning Ru-Girls.
Alexis Mateo, 44
United States
Pronouns in drag: She/Her
Pronouns out of drag: He/Him
BAM!
Puerto Rican queen Alexis Mateo first appeared in series three and won the bronze medal behind Raja and Manila Luzon. Initially seen as just a pageant queen, Alexis has managed to step firmly out of that box and is known for her iconic one liners (see: ‘BAM!’). She was also the drag mother of Miss Vanessa Vanjie Mateo – who you’ll definitely remember, if you know your 2018 memes.
Cheryl, 30
United Kingdom
Pronouns in drag: She/Her
Pronouns out of drag: He/Him
The artist formerly known as Cheryl Hole is keeping the reason for her new mononym tightly under wraps – to find out, you’ll have to watch the show.
Cheryl competed on the first ever series of Drag Race UK, and this will be the second time Cheryl will be going head-to-head with Canada, having been kicked out of the first vs The World in eighth place.
Eureka!, 33
United States
Pronouns in and out of drag: She/Her/They/Them
Upon entering the Drag Race: All Stars series six werkroom, Eureka said: “Eureka, you found it! Again. And again. And again. Well… maybe third time's the charm” – before becoming a runner up for the third time in a row.
Outside of Drag Race, Eureka co-hosts HBO series We’re Here with Bob the Drag Queen and Shangela, which sees them travel to small American towns, to convert the residents to the art of drag.
Kennedy Davenport, 43
United States
Pronouns in drag: She/Her
Pronouns out of drag: He/Him
Creator of the infamous inspirational quote “opinions are like buttholes… everyone’s got one”, Kennedy Davenport is essentially part of the drag race furniture – although she is named for Divine’s character in Female Trouble, and not the sofa.
Kennedy is known for being a fierce lip-syncer, with her dancing putting her in the Drag Race hall of fame.
La Kahena, 31
France
Pronouns in drag: She/Her
Pronouns out of drag: He/Him
La Kahena is part of a larger collection of ‘Porkchop’ queens, meaning the first queen to be eliminated in a series. The name isn’t euphemistic – it’s named after Victoria ‘Porkchop’ Parker, the first queen to ever be eliminated from Drag Race. La Kahena’s name is taken from 7th century warrior queen Kahina, and like her namesake she isn’t going to give up at a setback – she’s going to try and take the crown!
Le Fil, [age undisclosed]
United Kingdom
Pronouns in and out of drag: He/Him/They
Straight out of Brighouse, Le Fil is a master of all trades. A singing, dancing, sewing androgynous ‘look queen’, who describes themselves as an “Asian sensation”.
Le Fil is heavily inspired by art and sculpture, saying Andy Warhol is one of their inspirations. Le Fil got eliminated in 7th place on Drag Race UK series four, so let’s hope Le Fil lasts long enough this time around to bring more of their art to the runway.
Lemon, 28
Canada
Pronouns in drag: She/Her
Pronouns out of drag: He/Him
Lemon had only been doing drag for one year before entering the werkroom in Canada’s Drag Race series one. Although her run hasn’t been the most successful – having been inaugurated into the Porkchop queens in that series – Lemon has definitely earnt the respect of the other RuGirls. Among other things, she’s been a backup dancer for Tyomni Banks, a featured artist on Priyanka’s music (winner of Canada’s Drag Race series one) and been invited to model at New York Fashion Week by iconic queen Sasha Velour.
Miss Fiercalicious, 27
Canada
Pronouns in drag: She/Her
Pronouns out of drag: He/Him
Miss-Fierce-and-delicious is back, fresh out of The Traitors Canada. Her run as a ‘Faithful’, and eventual banishment, will hopefully help her keep her wits about her, and stay in the queen’s good books to avoid elimination. It’s not ‘RuPaul’s Best Friend Race’ after all.
Tynomi Banks, 42
Canada
Pronouns in drag: She/Her
Pronouns out of drag: He/Him
A portmanteau of supermodels Tyra Banks and Naomi Campbell, Tynomi is at home on the runway. She didn’t get to show off her modelling skills too much, as she was eliminated in 9th place in the first series of Canada’s Drag Race, having not won a single challenge.
She’s currently touring as a back-up dancer for Nelly Furtado. But let’s hope Tyonmi doesn’t make like a bird and fly away from the competition this time.
Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs The World airs weekly on BBC Three and iPlayer, beginning on Saturday 20 July.
