The fierce battle for a spot in the final three of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK took a hilarious turn with the Gladiators-themed “Dragiators Roast”. This aligns with the BBC’s plan to revive the iconic ’90s ITV show in 2024, making it the second time that the 1992-2000 13-series run has been revived, following Sky One’s shortlived two-series revival between 2008 and 2009. As the queens vied for supremacy, the comedy roast became a pivotal moment in their journey.
Michael Marouli, Tomara Thomas, Ginger Johnson, and DeDeLicious entered the arena, armed with wit and charm to roast the judges, rivals, and the series’ eliminated queens. Prior to the showdown, a comedy masterclass led by Alan Carr set the stage for the uproarious challenge. The survivor of the previous lip sync, DeDeLicious, had the honour of determining the lineup order.
Drama brewed early in the episode as DeDeLicious deliberated on the show’s running order, leading to a clash of preferences between her and Michael Marouli. Despite outward composure, Michael’s confessional revealed her underlying frustration. Regardless, the running order actually turned out perfect, with Tomara being an effortless opener, getting the audience into the swing of things, and setting the energy for all the other queens to meet.
DeDeLicious was apprehensive going into the challenge, but she proved not only the judges wrong, not only the eliminated queens wrong, but most importantly, she proved to herself that she could do this, that she could roast, and any comedy line-up tour would gladly add her to the roster as she didn’t let anything faze her. Who cares if someone doesn’t get your joke? What’s most important is that you don’t let it falter you, and DeDe impressed to no end.
The amazing critiques for all the queens really led RuPaul and the judges – Michelle Visage, Alan Carr, and extra special guest judge, Aisling Bea – splitting hairs, but Ginger Johnson showcased her comedy genius with her flawless ability to set up a joke, deliver it, and then take it another step further, making us all cackle in laughter. Where DeDe soared by not faltering, Ginger had the tiniest misstep when having to refer to her cards more than a couple of times.
Something so small was perfect for Michael Marouli to expose in the biggest shade of the night as she threw the cards away right from the get-go – who needs them when you’re going to wipe the floor with all the queens? She may have wanted to have gone first, but she absolutely nailed it in the final spot, in fact, the queens were all lucky they went ahead of her because to follow her act up would’ve been a nightmare and a half. She absolutely nailed it!
They followed it up with a gorgeous and captivating “Poofs on Parade” runway display, with all four queens bringing a unique taste to poofs that were next level! Tomara is finally wearing a gown, looking orange-hot as she sauntered down the runway! DeDe went all out in a gorgeous gold number making it her most iconic look on the runway that will go down in herstory. Ginger went for a hoop skirt but dragged to the max and we were in love. But, once again, Michael Marouli wiped the floor with a winter chav look inspired by puffer jackets but in a dress like no other. She emerged triumphant, earning a direct ticket to the final.
Prior to the bottom two being announced, Untucked led to some huge drama and shade as the eliminated queens sat on the couches together, with Vicki Vivacious revealing the meaning behind her snakey lipstick message where she said, “Love most of ya”. It turned out, she had been referencing DeDe, mentioning how the young queen left a bad taste in her mouth on week one (and not the good kind of bad taste), which made her consider her as sneaky.
In week one, DeDe mentioned during a mirror chat how she was a “born performer” and she agreed with Cara Melle who said that she, “Pitied the queen who would go up against her.” She then asked DeDe who she thought she’d be battling against, and DeDe said Alexis St. Pete’s name. DeDe mentioned how she apologised the day after and Alexis said she accepted the apology and they have no hard feelings about it. This led perfectly into the “thrown under the bus” Untucked drama that involved Banksy, Cara Melle – who was ill this episode so wasn’t there, unfortunately – and, again, Vicki Vivacious, but this time they joked it out with Banksy pretending to storm off.
While Ginger Johnson went on to be safe, also securing her place in the final, we were left with the bottom two, Tomara Thomas and DeDeLicious, who were no means least and would’ve been safe if there were more queens in the roast – well, Kate Butch excluded as she’s also a comedy genius. They battled in a lip-sync showdown to the incredible Annie Lennox and her song “Little Bird” in one of the closest lip-syncs this series, resulting in a heart-wrenching farewell for DeDeLicious as RuPaul told her to sashay away.
The impending final promises a showdown as the queens transform into “sexy cat burglars” for a music video for RuPaul’s “Spotlight” and engage in intimate conversations with Ru and Michelle before the ultimate winner is crowned.
Anticipation crackles in the air, heightening the stakes as the countdown commences, unveiling the soon-to-be-crowned champion of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series 5’s grand finale.
As fans eagerly await the final episode, they can dive deeper into series 5 by tuning into the companion Drag Race after-show, “The After Shave”, with Danny Beard, available on BBC Three and the iPlayer now.
Don’t miss a moment of the fierce competition on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series 5, airing on BBC Three and iPlayer in the UK and streaming on WOW Presents Plus in the US, apart from Canada where viewers can tune in on Crave.
You can follow all your favourite queens from this new series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK across all social media by checking out our article here.