RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 5 explained

Series Number:	5
Bgcolour:	E3E3E3
Module1:	Host: RuPaul Num Contestants: 10 Winner: Ginger Johnson Runner Up: Michael Marouli
Num Episodes:	10
Network:	WOW Presents Plus (International)
Prev Season:	Series 4
Episode List:	List of RuPaul's Drag Race UK episodes

The fifth series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK began 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 Pinewood Studios in January 2023.^{[1] [2]} The cast for the fifth series was announced on 11 September 2023 on social media.^{[3] [4] [5]}

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 appearing in a celebrity cameo in the fifth series of the show.^[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

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

Contestant! scope="col"

Age	Hometown	Outcome
Ginger Johnson	34	Lanchester, England	Winner
Michael Marouli	39	Newcastle upon Tyne, England	Runner-up
Tomara Thomas	25	Hartlepool, England	3rd place
DeDeLicious	20	nowrap	Royal Tunbridge Wells, England	4th place
Kate Butch	26	Buxton, England	5th place
Cara Melle	26	London, England	6th place
Vicki Vivacious	36	Redruth, England	7th place
Banksie	23	Manchester, England	8th place
Miss Naomi Carter	23	Doncaster, England	9th place
Alexis Saint-Pete	28	London, England	10th place

Lip syncs

Legend:

Episode	Top contestants			Song	Winner
1	Cara Melle	vs.	Vicki Vivacious	"Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Gina G)	Vicki Vivacious
Episode	Bottom contestants			Song	Eliminated
2	nowrap	Alexis Saint-Pete	vs.	nowrap	Miss Naomi Carter	"Hot in It" (Tiësto, Charli XCX)	Alexis Saint-Pete
Episode	Top contestants			Song	Winner
3	Cara Melle	vs.	Tomara Thomas	"Remember" (Becky Hill, David Guetta)	Cara Melle
Episode	Bottom contestants			Song	Eliminated
4	Cara Melle	vs.	nowrap	Miss Naomi Carter	"The Only Way Is Up" (Yazz)	Miss Naomi Carter
5	Banksie	vs.	DeDeLicious	"I Dreamed a Dream" (Susan Boyle)	Banksie
6	DeDeLicious	vs.	Vicki Vivacious	"Heartbreak on Hold" (Alexandra Burke)	Vicki Vivacious
7	Cara Melle	vs.	Michael Marouli	nowrap	"Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" (Samantha Fox)	Cara Melle
8	DeDeLicious	vs.	Kate Butch	"This Hell" (Rina Sawayama)	Kate Butch
9	DeDeLicious	vs.	Tomara Thomas	"Little Bird" (Annie Lennox)	DeDeLicious
Episode	Final contestants			Song	Winner
10	Ginger Johnson	vs.	Michael Marouli	"A Little Respect" (Erasure)	Ginger Johnson

Guest judges

Listed in chronological order:

• Kristen McMenamy, model^{[1] [19]}
• Yasmin Finney, actress^{[1] [19]}
• Sophie Ellis-Bextor, singer-songwriter^{[1] [19]}
• Suranne Jones, actress^{[1] [19]}
• Cush Jumbo, actress and writer^{[1] [19]}
• Alexandra Burke, singer-songwriter and actress^{[1] [19]}
• Joel Dommett, comedian, television presenter and actor^{[1] [19]}
• Daphne Guinness, designer, actor, producer and musician^{[1] [19]}
• Aisling Bea, comedian, actress and writer^{[1] [19]}

Special guests

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

Episode 1

• Blu Hydrangea, contestant on the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK and winner of the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World
• Jimbo, contestant on the first season of Canada's Drag Race, the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World, and winner of the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
• Lady Camden, runner-up on the fourteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race
• Nicky Doll, contestant on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and host of Drag Race France
• Pangina Heals, co-host of Drag Race Thailand and contestant on the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World
• Silky Nutmeg Ganache, contestant on the eleventh season RuPaul's Drag Race, the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars and runner-up on the first season of Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World
• Sminty Drop, contestant on the fourth series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK

Episode 2

• Edward Enninful, editor and stylist^{[1] [19]}

Episode 3

• Ian Masterson, record producer and songwriter

Episode 4

• Raven, runner-up on both RuPaul's Drag Race Season 2 and All Stars Season 1

Episode 5

• Dane Chaflin, director and vocal coach
• Karen Hauer, dancer and choreographer^{[1] [19]}

Episode 6

• Carol Vorderman, broadcaster and media personality^{[1] [19]}

Episode 10

• Claudimar Neto, dancer and choreographer^{[1] [19]}
• Danny Beard, winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK Series 4

Episodes

See also: List of RuPaul's Drag Race UK episodes.

Notes and References

1. Web site: RuPaul's Drag Race UK celebrity guest judges and special guests ru-vealed ahead of return to BBC Three and BBC iPlayer in autumn 2023 . . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830130553/https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2023/drag-race-uk-celebrity-guest-judges-special-guests-revealed . live .
2. Web site: RuPaul's Drag Race UK 2023 celebrity guest judges revealed for series 5 . TellyMix . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830130553/https://tellymix.co.uk/amp/reality-tv/669074-rupauls-drag-race-uk-2023-celebrity-guest-judges-revealed-for-series-5.html . live .
3. Web site: Drag Race UK: Date revealed for season 5 cast announcement . . 11 September 2023 . 6 September 2023 . 11 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230911152912/https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/drag-race-uk-date-revealed-for-season-5-cast-announcement/amp/ . live .
4. Web site: RuPaul's Drag Race UK: Meet the queens of season five . . 11 September 2023 . 11 September 2023.
5. Web site: RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 5 cast: Meet the queens battling it out for the crown . . 11 September 2023 . 11 September 2023.
6. Web site: Damshenas . Sam . "Calling all UK queens!": Drag Race UK is officially returning for season 5 . . 30 August 2023 . 2 September 2022 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830131429/https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/calling-all-uk-queens-drag-race-uk-is-officially-returning-for-season-5/amp/ . live .
7. Web site: James . Alastair . Fans are surprised after RuPaul announces Drag Race UK series five casting . . 30 August 2023 . 2 September 2022 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830130554/https://www.attitude.co.uk/culture/film-tv/fans-are-surprised-after-rupaul-announces-drag-race-uk-series-five-casting-404206/ . live .
8. Web site: RuPaul confirms Drag Race UK season five and fans are already gagging: 'Best news of the day' . . 30 August 2023 . 2 September 2022 . 24 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230224231814/https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/09/02/drag-race-uk-season-five-rupaul-casting/ . live .
9. Web site: Hibbs . James . RuPaul's Drag Race UK announces guest judges including Yasmin Finney . . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830130555/https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/reality-tv/rupaul-drag-race-yasmin-finney-newsupdate/ . live .
10. Web site: "Sinitta is latest celebrity to be confirmed for Drag Race UK" . Media Mole . 24 June 2023 . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830130557/https://amp.mediamole.co.uk/entertainment/rupaul-drag-race/news/sinitta-signs-up-as-guest-judge-for-drag-race-uk_516978.html . live .
11. Web site: Scott . Danni . "I could have bought a house' shares Drag Race UK winner who received no cash prize" . . 6 January 2023 . 6 January 2023 . 16 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230116120616/https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/i-could-bought-house-shares-28960238 . bot: unknown .
12. Web site: Drag Race UK confirms series 5 guest judges – including Yasmin Finney . . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830131105/https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a44945846/drag-race-uk-series-5-guest-judges/ . live .
13. Web site: "BBC reveals Guest Judge list for series 5 of Drag Race UK" . Yahoo UK . 30 July 2023 . 30 July 2023 . live . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830131116/https://consent.yahoo.com/v2/collectConsent?sessionId=2_cc-session_e3091bc2-f97a-48c5-921a-555e66ac9a31 .
14. Web site: Darville . Josh . "Kirsten McMenamy revealed as Drag Race UK judge" . Tellymix . 30 July 2023 . 30 July 2023 . live . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830131107/https://tellymix.co.uk/reality-tv/669074-rupauls-drag-race-uk-2023-celebrity-guest-judges-revealed-for-series-5.html .
15. Web site: Welsh . Daniel . "Hauer revealed as Drag Race UK judge as BBC reveal judges" . HuffPost . 30 July 2023 . 30 July 2023 . live . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830131201/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/rupauls-drag-race-uk-season-5-guest-judges-confirmed_uk_64ef030ee4b0ca54cc6bc68a .
16. Web site: Aisling Bea will coach competitors on Drag Race UK during comedy challenge. Metro. 30 August 2022. 30 August 2022. 31 August 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220831181041/https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2022/08/31/51678/aisling_bea_joins_rupaul%E2%80%99s_drag_race. live.
17. Web site: Spencer . Samuel . 2023-09-13 . Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard on new show: 'I used to pretend I was Davina McCall' . 2023-09-24 . BBC Three . en-GB.
18. Web site: 'RuPaul's Drag Race UK' Season 5, Episode 1 power ranking: The new crew . 28 September 2023 . 5 October 2023.
19. Web site: Welsh . Daniel . RuPaul's Drag Race UK Confirms Judges And Celebrity Guests For Season 5 . . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830131205/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/rupauls-drag-race-uk-season-5-guest-judges-confirmed_uk_64ef030ee4b0ca54cc6bc68a/ . live .