The first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK began airing on 3 October 2019 on the BBC Three section of BBC iPlayer and WOW Presents Plus's WOW Presents Plus streaming service. It ran for eight episodes.
The winner of first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK was The Vivienne, with Divina de Campo as the runner-up.
The song "Break Up (Bye Bye)", which was featured in the fifth episode, was released as a single and reached number 35 on the UK Singles Chart. It also peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in the US.
The Vivienne died on 3 January 2025 at the age of 32 due to cardiac arrest.
Contestants
Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
+ Contestant Age Hometown Outcome The Vivienne 26 Liverpool, England Divina de Campo 35 Brighouse, England Baga Chipz 29 East London, England 3rd place Cheryl Hole 25 Chelmsford, England 4th place Blu Hydrangea 23 Belfast, Northern Ireland 5th place Crystal 34 East London, England 6th place Sum Ting Wong 30 Birmingham, England 7th place Vinegar Strokes 34 North London, England 8th place Scaredy Kat 19 Cricklade, England 9th place Gothy Kendoll 21 Leicester, England 10th place
Contestant progress
Lip syncs Legend:
Episode Bottom contestants Song Eliminated 1 Gothy Kendoll vs. Vinegar Strokes "New Rules"(Dua Lipa) Gothy Kendoll 2 Blu Hydrangea vs. Scaredy Kat "Venus"(Bananarama) Scaredy Kat 3 Sum Ting Wong vs. Vinegar Strokes "Would I Lie to You?"(Eurythmics) Vinegar Strokes 4 Crystal vs. Sum Ting Wong "Spice Up Your Life"(Spice Girls) Sum Ting Wong 5 Crystal vs. The Vivienne "Power"(Little Mix) Crystal 6 Blu Hydrangea vs. Cheryl Hole "Call My Name (Wideboys Remix)"(Cheryl) Blu Hydrangea 7 Baga Chipz vs. Cheryl Hole "Tears Dry on Their Own"(Amy Winehouse) Cheryl Hole Episode Final contestants Song Winner 8 Divina de Campo vs. The Vivienne "I'm Your Man"(Wham!) The Vivienne
Guest judges Listed in chronological order:
Andrew Garfield, actor Maisie Williams, actress Twiggy, model and fashion designer Geri Halliwell, singer Jade Thirlwall, singer Cheryl, singer, television personality and dancer Michaela Coel, actress
Special guests Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 3 Raven, runner-up of both RuPaul's Drag Race Season 2 and All Stars 1
Episode 4 Stacey Dooley, investigative journalist Lorraine Kelly, television presenter
Episode 5 MNEK, singer and music producer
Episode 6 Katya, contestant from RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7, and runner-up of All Stars 2
Episode 8 AJ Pritchard, professional ballroom dancer Curtis Pritchard, professional ballroom dancer
Episodes
Reception
The series received very positive reviews from critics, with The Guardian describing the series as having "saved RuPaul's Drag Race" as the recent seasons have had a less than positive reception. In their review of the series, iNews awarded the series "five stars" and described it as a "roaring success", despite criticising its omission of a stand-up comedy challenge.
In a more critical review, Vulture stated in its review of the finale that although the season "may have hit some true highs... it couldn’t save Drag Race from its worst impulses".
References