RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 5)

The fifth series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK begin airing on BBC Three on 28 September 2023. RuPaul returned to his role as main host and head judge, and was again joined on the judging panel by Michelle Visage, Alan Carr and Graham Norton, all of whom returned for their respective fifth series. The series began filming in Manchester in January 2023.[1][2] The cast for the fifth series was announced on 11 September 2023 on social media.[3][4][5]

RuPaul's Drag Race UK
Series 5
Promotional poster for Series 5
Hosted byRuPaul
Judges
No. of contestants10
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes4
Release
Original networkBBC Three / BBC One (UK)
WOW Presents Plus (International)
Original release28 September 2023 (2023-09-28)
Series chronology

Production

On 2 September 2022, prior to the beginning of the fourth series, it was announced via the shows social media pages that casting for the fifth series was now open.[6][7] Applications remained open for two weeks until closing on 16 September 2022.[8]

The fifth series of the show began filming in January 2023.[9] Carol Vorderman was revealed to be the first guest judge for the fifth series of the show. A producer of the show said: "Everyone at Drag Race UK has wanted to have [Vorderman] on the panel for years, so they’re over the moon that they have finally made it happen. [She] is a household name and very popular with the public. And, crucially, she's a massive fan of the show and gets what it's all about."[9] Sophie Ellis-Bextor was subsequently spotted arriving to film the show.[9] Sinitta was previously reported to have been signed as a guest judge for the fifth series, with a source stating: "Sinitta is one of the most exciting signings in the show’s history. She’s a bona fide gay icon and loves outrageous outfits, so she's perfect for Drag Race".[10] Prior to the series, the show came under scrutiny for the contestants not receiving any cash prize compared to the other Drag Race franchises.[11] Willam, who was a contestant on the fourth season of the American version, commented: "They need to pay the girls a prize. That is thousands and thousands and thousands of pounds worth of outfits and hair. Some of these girls are coming out in the red."[11] Danny Beard, who won the previous series, said that they "could have bought a house", with the money spent preparing for RuPaul's Drag Race UK.[11] On 30 August 2023, the BBC revealed the line up of guest judges and special guests for the fifth series including: Vorderman, Ellis-Bextor, Yasmin Finney,[12] Suranne Jones,[13] Kristen McMenamy,[14] Karen Hauer,[15] Aisling Bea, who appeared as a special guest in the previous series,[16] Joel Dommett, Edward Enninful, Alexandra Burke, Cush Jumbo and Daphne Guinness who previously served as a guest judge on the seventh season of the American version spin-off RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.[14]

On 12 September 2023 an aftershow, named The After Shave with Danny Beard, was announced. In this series, the equivalent version of the American Whatcha Packin', features series 4 winner Danny Beard and guest, typically a former contestant from British adaptation, discussing the recently aired episode, besides interviewing the most recently eliminated queen about their run on the show.[17]

It has been reported that an eleventh contestant, Crystal Lubrikant, was initially cast on the season, but was disqualified at some point during filming due to alleged misconduct. The contestant was later edited out of episodes prior to her disqualification, and she was not included in either the cast announcement or any other promotional material relating to the series.[18]

Contestants
See also: List of Drag Race contestants § RuPaul's Drag Race UK

Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.

Contestants of RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 5 and their backgrounds[19]
Contestant Age Hometown Outcome
Cara Melle 26 London, England TBA
DeDeLicious 20 Royal Tunbridge Wells, England
Ginger Johnson 34 Lanchester, England
Kate Butch 26 Buxton, England
Michael Marouli 39 Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Tomara Thomas 25 Hartlepool, England
Vicki Vivacious 36 Redruth, England
Banksie 23 Manchester, England 8th place
Miss Naomi Carter 23 Doncaster, England 9th place
Alexis Saint-Pete 28 London, England 10th place

    Contestant progress

    Legend:

      WIN indicates that the contestant won the challenge.
      TOP2 indicates that the contestant was one of the two best performing in the challenge, but lost the lip sync to win it.
      SAFE indicates that the contestant was declared safe by the judges.
      BTM (Bottom) indicates that the contestant was up for elimination.
      ELIM (Eliminated) indicates that the contestant was eliminated.
      Guest indicates that the contestant returned as a guest.
    Progress of contestants including placements in each episode
    Contestant Episode
    1[20] 2[21] 3[22] 4[23] 5[24] 6
    Cara Melle TOP2 SAFE WIN BTM SAFE TBA
    DeDeLicious SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE BTM
    Ginger Johnson SAFE SAFE SAFE WIN WIN
    Kate Butch SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE
    Michael Marouli SAFE SAFE SAFE WIN SAFE
    Tomara Thomas SAFE SAFE TOP2 WIN SAFE
    Vicki Vivacious WIN SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE
    Banksie SAFE WIN SAFE SAFE ELIM
    Miss Naomi Carter SAFE BTM SAFE ELIM
    Alexis Saint-Pete SAFE ELIM

    Lip syncs

    Legend:

      The contestant won the lip sync to win the challenge.
      The contestant was eliminated after their first time in the bottom.
      The contestant was eliminated after their second time in the bottom.
    Episode Contestants Song Winner
    1[20] Cara Melle vs. Vicki Vivacious "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit"
    (Gina G)    		 Vicki Vivacious
    Episode Contestants Song Eliminated
    2[21] Alexis Saint-Pete vs. Miss Naomi Carter "Hot in It"
    (Tiësto, Charli XCX)    		 Alexis Saint-Pete
    Episode Contestants Song Winner
    3[22] Cara Melle vs. Tomara Thomas "Remember"
    (Becky Hill, David Guetta)    		 Cara Melle
    Episode Contestants Song Eliminated
    4[23] Cara Melle vs. Miss Naomi Carter "The Only Way Is Up"
    (Yazz)    		 Miss Naomi Carter
    5[24] Banksie vs. DeDeLicious "I Dreamed a Dream"
    (Susan Boyle)    		 Banksie

    Guest judges

    Listed in chronological order:

    Special guests

    Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.

    Episode 1

    Episode 2

    Episode 3

    Episode 4

    Episode 5

    Upcoming

    Episodes
    See also: List of RuPaul's Drag Race UK episodes
    No.
    overall    		No. in
    series    		TitleOriginal air date
    391"Tickety-Boo"28 September 2023 (2023-09-28)

    Ten new queens enter the workroom. For the first main challenge, the queens will present three different looks: Entrance Looks, Club Tickety-Boo Looks, and Fierce Impressions.

    On the runway, category is Fierce Impressions Eleganza Extravaganza. Alexis Saint-Pete, Cara Melle, Ginger Johnson, Michael Marouli and Vicki Vivacious receive positive critiques. It is then revealed that Cara Melle and Vicki Vivacious are the top two queens of the week and lip-sync for the win. They lip-sync to "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" by Gina G. After the lip-sync, Vicki Vivacious is announced as the winner of the challenge. RuPaul then announces that no one is going home.

    • Guest Judge: Kristen McMenamy
    • Alternating Judge: Alan Carr
    • Main Challenge: Serve three looks: Entrance Looks, Club Tickety-Boo Looks and Fierce Impressions
    • Runway Theme: Fierce Impressions Eleganza Extravaganza
    • Top Two: Cara Melle and Vicki Vivacious
    • Lip-Sync Song: "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" by Gina G
    • Challenge Winner: Vicki Vivacious
    402"Purr-fect Looks"5 October 2023 (2023-10-05)

    For this week's mini-challenge, the queens will pass along a handbag while music plays. The queen holding the handbag when the music stops assigns a superlative drawn from the bag to a fellow queen. Tomara Thomas ends up holding the handbag after the final round and therefore wins the mini-challenge. For this week's main challenge, the queens will create an outfit from pet store items.

    On the runway, Banksie, DeDeLicious and Tomara Thomas receive positive critiques, with Banksie winning the challenge. Alexis Saint-Pete, Cara Melle and Miss Naomi Carter receive negative critiques, with Cara Melle being safe. Alexis Saint-Pete and Miss Naomi Carter lip-sync to "Hot in It" by Tiësto and Charli XCX. Miss Naomi Carter wins the lip-sync and Alexis Saint-Pete is the first queen to sashay away.

    • Guest Judge: Yasmin Finney
    • Alternating Judge: Graham Norton
    • Mini-Challenge: Let the Cat Out of the Bag
    • Mini-Challenge Winner: Tomara Thomas
    • Main Challenge: Create an outfit made from pet store items
    • Challenge Winner: Banksie
    • Bottom Two: Alexis Saint-Pete and Miss Naomi Carter
    • Lip-Sync Song: "Hot in It" by Tiësto and Charli XCX
    • Eliminated: Alexis Saint-Pete
    • Farewell Message:
    413"Club Bangers"12 October 2023 (2023-10-12)

    For this week's main challenge, the queens will write, record, and perform verses to "Don't Ick My Yum".

    • Team Fierce Force Five - Cara Melle, DeDeLicious, Michael Marouli, Tomara Thomas and Vicki Vivacious
    • Team The M-52's - Banksie, Ginger Johnson, Kate Butch and Miss Naomi Carter

    On the runway, category is Night of a Thousand Pop Icons. Team Fierce Force Five is announced as the winning team, with Cara Melle and Tomara Thomas being announced as the top two queens of the week, and will lip-sync for the win. They lip-sync to "Remember" by Becky Hill and David Guetta. After the lip-sync, Cara Melle is announced as the winner of the challenge. RuPaul then announces that no one is going home.

    References
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    2. "RuPaul's Drag Race UK 2023 celebrity guest judges revealed for series 5". TellyMix. 30 August 2023. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
    3. "Drag Race UK: Date revealed for season 5 cast announcement". Gay Times. 6 September 2023. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
    4. "RuPaul's Drag Race UK: Meet the queens of season five". PinkNews. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
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    6. Damshenas, Sam (2 September 2022). ""Calling all UK queens!": Drag Race UK is officially returning for season 5". Gay Times. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
    7. James, Alastair (2 September 2022). "Fans are surprised after RuPaul announces Drag Race UK series five casting". Attitude. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
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    10. ""Sinitta is latest celebrity to be confirmed for Drag Race UK"". Media Mole. 24 June 2023. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
    11. Scott, Danni (6 January 2023). ""I could have bought a house' shares Drag Race UK winner who received no cash prize"". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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    17. Spencer, Samuel (2023-09-13). "Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard on new show: 'I used to pretend I was Davina McCall'". BBC Three. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
    18. "'RuPaul's Drag Race UK' Season 5, Episode 1 power ranking: The new crew". Retrieved 5 October 2023.
    19. "Meet the RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 5 Queens". BBC Media Centre. 11 September 2023. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
    20. "Tickety-Boo". RuPaul's Drag Race UK. Season 5. Episode 1. September 28, 2023. BBC Three / WOW Presents Plus.
    21. "Purr-fect Looks". RuPaul's Drag Race UK. Season 5. Episode 2. October 5, 2023. BBC Three / WOW Presents Plus.
    22. "Club Bangers". RuPaul's Drag Race UK. Season 5. Episode 3. October 12, 2023. BBC Three / WOW Presents Plus.
    23. "DisasterClass". RuPaul's Drag Race UK. Season 5. Episode 4. October 19, 2023. BBC Three / WOW Presents Plus.
    24. "Panto Dames". RuPaul's Drag Race UK. Season 5. Episode 4. October 26, 2023. BBC Three / WOW Presents Plus.
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