Lawrence Chaney (born Lawrence Maidment; 16 October 1996) is a Scottish drag queen based in Glasgow. They are best known for winning the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, becoming the first Scottish drag queen and the second Plus Size contestant to win across the franchise. Their role on the series later earned them the 2021 BAFTA Scotland Audience Award. As part of their Drag Race victory, Chaney was awarded their own online television series, later titled Tartan Around, which premiered in 2022.
Career Chaney has professionally fulfilled their career as a drag performer since 2014 in Glasgow. In an interview with Metro, Chaney said their drag surname "Chaney" was inspired by 1920s prolific silent movie star Lon Chaney and explained that, "He was known as the man of a thousand faces and I'm known as the queen of a thousand faces, because I'm good at impersonation, stupid voices and general buffoonery."
From 2017 to 2019, Chaney was a regular contributor to the award-winning BBC The Social producing short, witty commentary and makeup clips representing Scottish drag culture. This led to a TV commission for The Social called Insider's Guide, in which Chaney took viewers on a tour of Glasgow's cultural hotspots.
In December 2020, Chaney was announced as one of twelve contestants competing on the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. On 18 March 2021, Chaney was announced as the winner of the series, becoming the first Scottish and first plus-size winner of a Drag Race season hosted by RuPaul (the first ever being Drag Race Thailand season 1 winner Natalia Pliacam). As part of their Drag Race victory, Chaney was awarded their own online television series, later titled Tartan Around, which premiered in 2022.
In March 2021, Chaney, alongside their fellow RuPaul's Drag Race UK finalists Tayce, Bimini Bon-Boulash, and Ellie Diamond, was photographed and interviewed for The Guardian and later British Vogue. Lawrence also embarked on a UK Tour alongside A'Whora, Bimini Bon-Boulash, and Tayce for the United Kingdolls Tour with promoter Klub Kids in July 2021, and in February 2022, Chaney embarked on RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Official Tour alongside the entire cast of the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, in association with World of Wonder and promoter Voss Events.
In April 2021, Chaney was interviewed for and featured on the cover of Attitude's "Tea Time Digital Special", in association with Taimi. Chaney was also a featured guest and panelist at the digital National Student Pride 2021 event.
In May 2021, Transworld announced they had acquired the rights to Chaney's forthcoming memoir, Lawrence (Drag) Queen of Scots: The Dos and Don'ts of a Drag Superstar.
Preceding RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Chaney has been a frequent collaborator with the BBC (especially BBC Sounds). On 21 August 2021, they presented the Saturday mid-morning slot on BBC Radio 1 from 10:30am, alongside Arielle Free and other drag queens, as part of "Drag Day".
Personal life Chaney grew up in both Helensburgh in Scotland and Newbury in England. Chaney currently resides within the Gorbals area of Glasgow, Scotland. They have expressed their support for Scottish independence.
Regarding their gender identity, Chaney stated in an article for the i: "I still don't know if I am male, female, or somewhere in between. I think the best way to describe my gender is fluid, but this isn't finite. I see myself as ever evolving and always discovering more about myself."
Filmography Television Year Title Role Notes 2019Mother TuckersThemselfTelevision documentary 2021RuPaul's Drag Race UKContestantWinner; Series 2LorraineThemselfGuestCelebrity JuiceThemselfGuestThe Hit ListThemselfGuestThe Great British Sewing BeeThemselfGuest 2022Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen and Proud Themself BBC DocumentaryAnt & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway Themself Performed as part of the End of the Show ShowCelebrity Gogglebox ThemselfGuestBlankety Blank ThemselfGuestMartin Compston's Scottish Fling ThemselfBBC Scotland miniseries; Episode: "The West Coast"Celebrity Lingo ThemselfGuestThe Wheel ThemselfGuestRuPaul's Drag Race UK ThemselfGuest; Series 4Lawrence Chaney's Homecoming Queens Themself 2024 Slaycation ThemselfJoey Nolfi, "See the 6 returning Drag Race queens set to be dropped into the wilderness on new Slaycation series". Entertainment Weekly, June 6, 2024. 2025 RuPaul's Drag Race ThemselfGuest; Season 17Kevin O'Keeffe, "‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 17, Episode 2 recap: Whatcha gonna do with all that dunk". Xtra Magazine, January 13, 2025.The Celebrity Inner CircleThemselfGuest; Series 1
Radio Year Title Role Notes 2021 Radio 1 Drag Day with Lawrence Chaney & Arielle Free Themself BBC Radio 1
Web series Year Title Role Notes 2021 National Student Pride 2021 Themself National Student Pride 2021Cosmo Queens UK Themself Cosmopolitan UK 2021 I Like to Watch UK Themself Netflix UK2022Tartan AroundThemselfWOWPresents+ Original 2022God Shave the Queens ThemselfFeatured queen 2022 Bring Back My GirlsThemself Guest 2023 Give It to Me StraightThemself Guest 2023 Binge QueensThemself Guest2024The Pit StopThemselfGuestRuPaul's Drag Race Live UntuckedThemselfWOWPresents Plus originalHouse of LaughsThemselfWOWPresents Plus originalTouch-Ups with RavenThemself
Discography As lead artist Title Year Album"We Werk Together"2022
As featured artist + List of singles as a featured artist Title Year Peaks Album UK UK "UK Hun?" 2021 27 3 rowspan="3" "A Little Bit of Love" — — "UK Hun?" — —
Stage Year Title Promoter Location 2021Squirrel FriendsKlub KidsLondon, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Newcastle2021United Kingdolls The TourKlub KidsTorquay, Southampton, Newcastle, Glasgow, Sheffield, Leeds, Cardiff, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and London2021The Lawrence Chaney ShowKlub KidsReading, Southampton, Torquay, Bath, Exeter, Plymouth, Nottingham, Hull, London, Sheffield, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Brighton2022RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Official TourVoss Events / World of WonderIpswich, Oxford, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Nottingham, Bournemouth, Southend, Manchester, Sheffield, Blackpool, Llandudno, Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, Basingstoke, Portsmouth, Plymouth and London2022United Kingdolls TourITD Events / Klub KidsSydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland and Wellington
Awards and nominations Year Award ceremony Category Work Results Ref.202131st British Academy Scotland AwardsAudience AwardThemself 2022The WOWIE AwardsBest Book Award (The Reading is Fundamental Award) (Drag) Queen of Scots: The Dos and Don’ts of a Drag Superstar
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