- Much betta.
(record scratches)
Hello everyone,
it's me Miz Cracker
and it's time for High Tea.
The show where we talk about everything
that has to do with anything that has to do with
RuPaul's Drag Race UK
season one.
Now, today is a very special episode.
Because we are going to crown somebody.
That's right.
For the first time ever in the UK
there is going to be a RuPaul's Drag Race queen.
Royalty!
Now, this is also a special episode
because I have two lovely guests with me.
We have Shakina Nayfack here
who is visible on "Transparent".
And she is absolutely incredible.
And we have Amanda Duarte as well
who will be appearing at Joe's Pub.
Which is a sacred monument in New York City.
Thank you guys both for being here.
- Thank you
so much for having us - Yeah, it's so
much fun.
- Let's talk about the (beep) damn episode.
- I mean.
- Cheryl Hole is gone, farewell.
And she has left a hole in our hearts
that cannot be filled.
But that means that we have now
the top three.
- [Shakina] Top three.
- We have Divina De Campo,
The Vivienne,
and we have Baga Chipz.
- Baga Chipz. - Baga Chipz.
- Okay, they're gonna do a showcase.
They're going to write their lyrics,
they're going to record them,
they're going to do "To The Moon"
by RuPaul herself
with choreography.
Right before you, today,
I have what is a
there's three,
so luckily one for each of us.
- [Amanda] Oh, thank goodness.
- This is a peanut butter,
mayonnaise, and pickle sandwich
on whole wheat bread.
Now, if you like any one or all three of these ingredients.
You are going to love
this delicious sandwich.
And I would eat one right now.
- Is this like a--
- Is this like a dare?
- Is this a staple of your diet?
That somebody challenged? - This is a staple
of my family diet.
- Really, I'm here for it.
- Oh, God. (beep)
- That is so good.
- Isn't it
just delicious? - Wow.
- That is so good.
- I'm actually gonna take a second bite.
- And it's affordable.
- Texture, mommy.
We've got whole wheat,
so high fiber content.
- High fiber.
- High water content in the pickle.
Nuts, good for your metabolism.
- Mm hmm.
- They help you burn fat.
This sandwich is actually helping me burn fat right now.
- Right now.
I'm losing weight.
- This is ketogenic is what this is.
- Yes it is.
Before we hit the mainstage
we get to do "What's the Tea?"
The radio, or podcast, if you will,
with Michelle and Ru.
- There's nothing I love more
than watching a podcast.
- I know.
First up, I believe was,
Baga Chipz.
And, hers really hit me emotionally
because she never let
it all out.
- It seemed like RuPaul and Michelle
were tryin' to give her permission
to acknowledge the grief
and then she wasn't ready to access that.
And I think they're always looking at that,
the fans are always looking for that
shred of vulnerability.
And it still seemed like Baga
was kinda dodging that
and getting behind the humor.
- And that's a cultural difference.
- Sure, sure.
- They just
British people are just not
culturally
it's not part of the thing to be really
emotionally open.
And I mean maybe this was just the guy
I was dating
maybe this was just the excuse he used.
For not
saying that he liked me.
(laughing)
- Well, British.
- Like, woop, oh, British, whoops.
In a way,
I find that very compelling.
I feel like with her you could see
the vulnerability - You could see it working.
- But there was also the courage
of just sort of like
it didn't feel like a wall was coming down
or a mask was going on.
It was like, look,
this happened to me
and I coped and I moved forward
and I found the positive
and I'm moving on.
And I have great respect for that.
- And also, we didn't get a lot of emotion
from The Vivienne either.
The Vivienne talked about some pretty tough experiences
and she didn't cry,
she didn't really go wild with her emotions.
It was interesting for me, I think,
as someone who has been an addict before,
but I never chose one thing.
(laughing)
So I admire her for her dedication.
- Your drug of choice was more.
- Yeah!
- Clearly this is her sort of angle,
her sort of story line is
I have over come addiction
and I've come out the other side
and look at me now.
Which is amazing, it's wonderful.
I think all of us are kind of that.
But, I will say though,
that of the three finalists
I kind of got the least about of pheromones
from The Vivienne.
- I appreciated that she brought something
out of RuPaul that I had never learned.
Which was that RuPaul's also sober.
- Yeah.
- And I thought that was really
cool to hear on the podcast moment.
- But, enough nonsense, everybody.
It's time to hit the mainstage.
It's time to do a performance of "To The Moon".
♪ To, to, to, to the moon ♪
♪ to the moon ♪
- Now you're alone.
- It's just that
there's verses. - You went to far.
- You went to far.
We stayed within the boundaries of taste.
- That was a bridge too far.
- A bridge too far.
- I'm terrible with boundaries, forgive me.
- So, I was looking at the choreography in rehearsal.
And I notice a,
not to use a pun,
marked difference
between what was on the mainstage
and what was in rehearsal.
- [Amanda] In Britain they would say, "marked".
- [Miz Cracker] A marked difference.
Yes, it's what I would call walking around for most of it.
- At least for Baga.
- Yeah, right?
- It was a lot of gesturing this way
and gesturing that way.
- But blessings, play to her strengths.
- Of course. - Right.
- You know, this is not dancing with the top,
what is it?
- [Miz Cracker] Dancing with the Tops?
- Dancing with the Tops.
This is definitely not Dancing with the Tops.
This is dancing with the bossy bottoms.
Those choreographers.
But, they played to her strengths
and they just gave her stand and pose
and I'm there for it.
I don't need her to be a Solid Gold dancer.
- Right.
However, while Baga was a little awkward
Divina was divine.
- [Amanda] Divine.
- Obviously there's, with her figure,
she is just this slender, leggy lady.
She was hitting the moves.
- [Shakina] No, she was really giving me Broadway.
- [Miz Cracker] Right.
- Effortless.
Just being passed around,
and flipped,
and holding court.
Even upside down
she knew how to present and hold space.
Which I thought was awesome.
- Upside down with her legs open she held space.
- Ownin'
- I'll wait for Amanda in
now.
(laughter)
- I see you siting over there like.
(Shakina and Amanda laugh)
- I set you up
you can spike it down.
- Drop, set, spike, yes, thank you.
- Which brings us to The Vivienne.
There were high points, there were low points.
- Well, I think it was a reclamation for her
because she had the low point earlier in the season
with the girl group challenge.
And she fumbled in her first step out there
and just couldn't get back.
So I think, in terms of seeing the nerve
in this episode,
the nerve, for me,
was seeing Vivienne step up
and conquer that fear.
- The real challenge
was who would come out of that
and have their personality shine
and feel like it was their
moment where there's clarity.
And I think we all agree that
out of that fog came
Divina De Campo
Who owned the moment
and she seemed to cover the whole stage,
you were paying attention
to every gesture. - Well, she was
in her element.
- Absolutely. - And this is her
skill, this her strength.
- Well, they're all her skills, aren't they?
- I mean, kinda, yeah, that's the thing.
- That's what she told us.
- Yes.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- But, it is some people's favorite part of the show.
The runway.
These girls are bringing the gowns.
Now, Baga Chipz made me wonder
what category are we on right now?
- Eleganza extravaganza it was not.
But it was pure camp.
It was absolutely her brand.
And her face the whole time.
- Great.
- [Miz Cracker] Just being herself.
- The whole time.
- Listen, it completely worked for me.
It was sort of where Dynasty,
where they move out of the Dynasty mansion
and then into the Golden Girls house.
There was that moment she captured
and I enjoyed it.
- And also when they said Dolly Parton
I was like, "ping".
I was like, I'm here for it.
- Do what you love and the money will follow.
- Yeah.
- [Amanda] What color is her parachute, it's seafoam.
- Exactly, oh, absolutely.
From nine to five and 10s across the board.
(shouting and laughter)
Okay, so next it is time to talk about
Divina De Campo.
Who wore this incredible Union Jack gown.
- You know what I thought,
she came out and I was like,
"Oh, it's already season two
"and she's here to give the crown to the next winner."
Like she came out as the queen who had already won.
So I just gave it to her.
Yeah, well, there you go.
- Yeah, I particularly enjoyed the asymmetry of it
and the way that the flag was deconstructed.
And I feel like we've seen in other challenges
in our country.
It's still a country, I think.
In our dictatorship, whatever it is
we live in now.
I think that we would've seen
a much more literally,
the exact flag.
We're used to seeing that.
- [Miz Cracker] A Spice Girls
costume - A costume.
Yeah, exactly.
And so I really enjoyed,
it was kinda like a Vivienne Westwood moment
that it was sort of patchwork
and off center
and I really enjoyed that.
- Yeah, if I'm to nitpick,
it did fall a little high.
- It was a little bippity-boppity-boo.
- Yeah, down at the bottom, just like.
- Like the shoe for the fitting
was not the shoe for the runway.
- Exactly.
- There was ever so slight a difference
in the heel.
- But I have to tell you
that is exactly what makes me love
Divina De Campo.
- For sure.
- It's just like one 32nd of an inch off
and that makes you--
- You just love her.
- Be like, you're not the queen that
every single person is in love with,
you're the queen that particularly I love.
And of course,
last but certainly not least
we have The Vivienne.
And she wore the sequins.
- [Shakina] Every sequins.
- All of them. - All of them.
- [Miz Cracker] And the stones
what did we think of that?
- Yeah, I mean the blush pink was lovely.
I thought it was very elegant.
The boob placement seemed a little off to me.
But I don't know, it could just be me.
I don't know.
- You're right.
- It took me a long time to get mine.
- As a finale runway look,
I didn't feel enough of a sense of
uniqueness or nerve.
Like, it was safe,
it was gorgeous,
it was very monochromatic and sort of,
she said something about
I'm a Barbie
and I didn't get Barbie from it at all.
- Right, okay, yeah.
- But, I mean lovely.
- So, having said that, my children.
It's time to talk about those winning speeches.
The girls arguing their case
and saying this is why I deserve to take the crown home.
The burger master crown
home.
(laughter)
That we saw in a cutaway.
So, let's talk about those really quick.
First up
is Baga.
- [Shakina] I thought she just crowned herself
Miss Congeniality.
She took herself out of the running.
It was like gracious.
And it wasn't the first time she'd done that.
Earlier in the season she was on stage
and she said something about
not even believing that she could be next to these other
gorgeous women.
And I think Michelle was right when she said that
she doesn't necessarily believe in herself
enough to be
Drag Superstar.
- I'm gonna do this again,
and I know it's so annoying,
- It's so British - but I really think
it's like a cultural thing.
And as far as British audiences go,
I think Baga won that moment,
you know what I mean?
- For the heart, for sure.
- By being like, excuse me.
So, we're talking about fighting for the crown
and you say Miss Congeniality
but we have to remember the structure of power
in England
there's The Queen
and then there's the Prime Minister.
And then there's the people's princess.
And I really feel like in that moment
Baga won the
people's princess. - People's princess.
- She is the Princess Diana of the competition.
- You have forever changed my view.
- Here for you, here for you.
- Of Drag Race, thank you.
- I did think it was interesting how
the other two queens as they
answered that question sort of
ramped up the self-promotion a little bit.
And I can only imagine what British audiences thought
of those two saying
I deserve this.
- I always think about respect to
RuPaul.
And I think in past season,
Ru has always been like,
"I am looking for the girls
"who are here for the strategy,
"who are here to win it,
"because I've brought you here to give you a chance.
"And I wanna see you fight to the last minute
"for that opportunity."
And I just worry,
I just think about RuPaul looking at that
and being like,
"I brought you here.
"Don't you want to fight for it?"
- And then with Divina, you know,
having such a prepared speech about her qualifications
what I really appreciated about it,
I think she was saying what she would do
with the resources.
Because the prize here is to go
create a digital series on World of Wonder.
So she talked about writing scripts
and doing TV shows,
and all the preparation that she had done,
so it was like you can trust me with this
because I will make the most of the opportunity.
- This is my favorite speech,
I think possibly of all Drag Race history
if I think about it
was The Vivienne's.
She's like,
"I mean, number one
(laughter)
"I've cornered the market on humility."
- I loved that.
I'm the master of humbleness.
I am the most humble of anybody here.
- I might not have all the skills,
but who wants all the skills?
(laughs)
I need room to grow or something.
- I am more than the sum of my parts.
- Yes, yes, yes.
- And meanwhile Divina De Campo
in this gorgeous gown and hair is like.
- [Shakina] She gave a great look.
That cutaway was priceless.
- So, The Vivienne, to me,
is like the Prime Minister choice.
You know what I mean?
Very
kind of like very calculated,
very stoic,
and very like,
look, you don't need all the skills.
More like a politician, I think.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- Now, as soon as the runways are done,
we have a little surprise backstage.
The eliminated queens are returning.
Of course, we think at first,
maybe they're gonna vote for who the winner is.
Or who should go home today.
- [Amanda] Some shenanigans.
- I was hoping for a little shenan.
'Cause that was seeming like there was gonna be a set up.
But it was also nice to just see the camaraderie.
- I loved it.
I love a sisterhood.
I love a camaraderie.
- For me, something that really touched my heart
was when Crystal was like,
I didn't really think about it until I was alone in my room
and I realized that while I'm sitting here,
the show is going on,
the competition is going on,
and that kinda broke my heart.
And I remember from season 10 being in that situation
just being like,
(humming)
and then the abyss.
And you realize,
oh the competition is still going on.
And I thought it was really vulnerable that she said that.
And really touching that
it was shared.
Silence.
Back on the mainstage,
it's time to make some important decisions.
And one of these girls is gonna have to go home
and I'm afraid that Baga gets the bag.
So, she heartbreakingly walks away.
She is much loved by all of us.
She is that big, yellow, fuzzy coat.
And, I really think that she
has crowned herself as Miss Congeniality.
She's going to be loved by everyone.
But now,
it is time for the lip sync.
And it is going to be Divina and Vivienne.
Two girls that have proven they have
charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent.
And, dammit, they can dance when the time comes.
- That's right.
- So what did we think about this lip sync
which bizarrely was to Wham! "I Am Your Man"
is that what it was?
- Yes, and I have thoughts. - Oh look at that.
- I feel like that was a bump set
for them to do,
to play with the lyrics of the song,
I'm your man.
I felt like there could have been a lot,
they could have had a lot more fun with it.
I felt like we just saw very literal lip syncs
from both of 'em.
Like, every once in a while
was it Divina who spit in her hand.
Like, that was funny,
but I felt like choosing that song
was a set up for a comedy moment
that wasn't really seized upon.
Oh, and the other thing is,
this was our first time seeing Divina lip sync.
Yeah, she was great,
but I feel like, I don't know,
the TV viewer in me wants a stronger reveal then that.
A bolder choice.
- I loved Divina's back bend center stage.
- Loved it.
- I thought that was a killer moment.
- Yes, that was great.
- I liked how the two of them
negotiated the space together well.
Because that slide that The Viv did
in on the ballgown,
that was pretty great.
- [Amanda] That was lovely.
- But I also thought like,
okay, where is your last look.
Because they came out with these outfits
knowing that they're gonna have to lip sync in them
so you would think there'd be
some kind of reveal. - Something!
- Pull off a wig, open a thing,
let there be one more step to the outfit.
- The song is called "I'm Your Man"
give me a point of view.
- Of course, we wanted more,
but we get more when we find out
who takes the crown.
And it is not a, but The Vivienne.
How do you guys feel about our new queen?
- Great.
Solid polished performer.
Will wear the crown with her head high.
I think she's great
and she's got these two sort of storylines
she's the recovering addict,
and she's the,
and I hate the way this sounds,
the Liverpudlian.
- (laughs) Liverpudlian.
- Which sounds terribly vulgar.
But she's got a combination of high and low
that I enjoy very much.
- I think she's great, too.
I was surprised that she won.
But, what I think she's gonna be great at
is bringing together the British audiences
and the American drag audiences.
Because I think she straddles that line really finely
in terms of being able to be sort of classy,
and reserved, and polished
in the ways that maybe, you were saying,
the British culture expects their queen to be.
But, also, she's still, kind of a down ass bitch.
- I absolutely agree.
She had the carriage of a winner from the very beginning.
So, I can't wait to see her travel and tour
and I can't wait to see her in person.
Because she is, if nothing else,
an amazing show.
Skirt!
It's time for my favorite segment of the week,
The Queen's English.
And today, our phrase is,
"common as muck".
What do we think of this phrase?
What do you think it means.
- I would think it was like, basic.
- Yeah, okay, how about you?
- I'm thinking there's like a trashy element
to it, too.
It's like basic trash.
That's also my drag name.
- Basic Trash.
- At first I thought it was like a camaraderie thing.
Oh, we three, we're common as muck.
You know.
- Right, right, oh we're common as muck.
- So yeah, it is like lower class.
And, yeah, trash essentially.
Which, you know, I identify with.
- [Amanda] Absolutely.
- As long as it's wrapped in a golden bag.
I wanna know where people can find and follow you.
- I am @duarteamanda on Twitter.
If you want to be bored to death
I'm agitated in xenon on Instagram.
- Yeah, I'm shakeenz on every platform.
S-H-A-K-E-E-N-Z.
- Okay, enough.
I want to hear from you.
Particularly the kids in the UK.
We want to know about British culture.
But whoever you are,
tweet at and towards me at LogoTV.
And remember to use the hashtag DragRaceUK.
Now, the series is over,
we have crowned a queen,
but make sure to watch all of my special
High Tea episodes.
You can see them all on LogoTV.com
or on Logo's YouTube.
I've had a lovely time.
Tell me if you loved it.
And if you didn't,
just keep it to yourself.
Everybody, I'm Miz Cracker
and this has been High Tea.
Cheerio.
All right, I need a drink.
I need some whiskey.