When will Drag Race UK be back on our screens? Here’s everything you need to know about season three.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK has unveiled twelve fabulous queens ready to battle it out for the title of Next Drag Race Superstar for series three – including the show’s first ever female drag queen.
Ding dang dong. It’s round three, huns.
— RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (@dragraceukbbc) August 18, 2021
Meet the new #DragRaceUK queens coming to @BBCthree on @bbciplayer in September. ???? pic.twitter.com/2zgdi8x1av
“Ding dang dong. It’s round three, huns,” RuPaul’s Drag Race’s official Twitter page posted. “Meet the new #DragRaceUK queens coming to @BBCthree on @bbciplayer in September.
As for guest judges, rumours that Spice Girl star Emma Bunton will be appearing on the panel of series three have been flying recently, with a source telling The Daily Star (via Female First): “Emma is a cracking signing for the show – she’s one of the best names yet. She is a British icon and has a global fanbase. Everyone was tickled pink that she agreed to take part.”
While Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Coronation Street’s Michelle Keegan and Sir Elton John are also rumoured to be taking part in the upcoming series.
Here’s everything we know so far about Drag Race UK season three.
Drag Race UK season 3 release date
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Engines at the ready, racers – Drag Race UK series three will return to our screens this September.
Those are all of our stunning queens. ????
— RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (@dragraceukbbc) August 18, 2021
Series three drops on @BBCPlayer and @wowpresentsplus in September. Not in the UK? Here’s where you can watch your faves. https://t.co/sGerQWgrDM
BBC Three announced that series three is dropping on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer in September, while revealing the 12 queens taking part this year.
Drag Race UK season 3 judges
BBC Three is yet to confirm which famous faces will be appearing on the judging panel but the show wouldn’t be the same without RuPaul, so we can almost certainly count on him returning.
It’s being reported that Spice Girl Emma Bunton recently finished filming her stint on the panel. Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock has also reportedly signed up, as has Michelle Keegan. Sir Elton John is set to appear via a video link.
Similarly, regular judge Michelle Visage will be back, as will Graham Norton and Alan Carr, alternating each week as they have done for the past two series.
As for celebrity guests, there’s no word from the BBC yet as to who’ll be dropping by the Drag Race main stage but it’s currently being rumoured that Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock will be appearing as a guest judge. Band mate Jade Thirlwall was a big success as a guest star on the first season of Drag Race UK.
The judging roster is likely to be in the same stellar league as the stars who’ve appeared in season two – Elizabeth Hurley, Sheridan Smith, Lorraine Kelly, MNEK and Dawn French among others.
Drag Race UK season 3 guest judges
Spice Girl Emma Bunton has reportedly just finished filming her guest appearance on the show. The singer will be joined by Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Michelle Keegan and Sir Elton John, who appear via video link, according to the Daily Star.
“Emma is a cracking signing for the show – she’s one of the best names yet,” a source told the tabloid. “She is a British icon and has a global fanbase. Everyone was tickled pink that she agreed to take part.”
Geri Horner appeared as a guest judge on the first series, and producers are said to be keen to get Victoria Beckham, Mel B and Mel C on the show for cameo appearances in the future too.
Drag Race UK season 3 cast
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With season two having just finished, the BBC is yet to announce the line-up for season three but we’ll definitely be seeing another 12 queens from across the UK make their Drag Race debut later this year.
BBC Three announced season three’s autumn release with a short clip, revealing just the hands of the third series’s contestants – if you manage to identify any of the queens from that video alone, then you know you’re a hard core drag fan.
It’s official, #DragRaceUK Series 3 is coming THIS AUTUMN! ???? pic.twitter.com/Af6a2Ee4Yf
— BBC Three (@bbcthree) July 19, 2021
We already knew one of the season three contestants – Veronica Green, the London-based musical queen who prematurely left this year’s competition after testing positive for coronavirus.
RuPaul revealed in season two’s fifth episode that she’d given Veronica an open invitation to return to the competition in the next series, however Veronica Green told RadioTimes.com in February that she hadn’t yet decided whether to take part in season three.
“I’m going to sit on it until the last second, I’ve not made my decision,” she said in her Drag Race Debrief interview.
In August 2021, the Drag Race UK season three line-up was confirmed.
Drag Race UK season 3 trailer
While BBC Three is yet to release a full-length trailer for the upcoming third series, the show’s Twitter account did post a cryptic seven-second teaser, telling fans to “start their engines” for series three, set to RuPaul’s Rock It (To The Moon).
Hide your wigs, the series three queens are coming. ???? #DragRaceUK pic.twitter.com/9nsNRgf5dw
— RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (@dragraceukbbc) June 21, 2021
Who won Drag Race UK previously?
The first season of Drag Race UK, which aired back in October 2019, saw Liverpudlian queen The Vivienne take home the crown, while Divina De Campo and Baga Chipz placed second and third respectively.
Season two saw Glaswegian queen Lawrence Chaney was named the UK’s Next Drag Race Superstar, with runners up including Bimini Bon Boulash and Tayce. Lawrence was thrilled, after a lip sync to Elton John’s I’m Still Standing secured the victory. “This is insane! It’s incredible. Scotland babes, I brought the crown home.”