In the latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Series 5, the queens faced the iconic girl group challenge, leaving fans on the edge of their seats with a surprise twist. As the queens were split into two groups to perform the ’90s-style floor-filler “Don’t Ick My Yum”, the competition heated up.
RuPaul herself was clearly impressed with both group performances, leading to another episode where no elimination takes place. Although, it was glaringly obvious that the girl group challenge was supposed to consist of two groups of five – so what happened to the extra queen? Well, reports seemed to be correct that the “Where’s Wally/Waldo” queen was disqualified from the show after the second episode due to reports of sexual assault claims.
We can’t help but feel for Alexis St. Pete, though. We’re three episodes in and she’s still the only eliminated queen to date (well not strictly true due to the disqualified queen who shall not be named). We were expecting her to make a return due to the disqualified queen, however, it seems a lip-sync for the win was chosen instead, leaving Alexis St. Pete as the only eliminated queen so far. It looks like everything will return to normal in the following episodes, and we’ll be back on track eliminating queens.
Unlike previous seasons, the coveted RuPeter badge for the winning group wasn’t given out across the board. Instead, it was awarded to one exceptional queen. This was decided after a lip-sync for the win with Cara Melle going on to secure the RuPeter Badge.
The Fierce Force Five, consisting of Vicki Vivacious, Michael Maroulli, Cara Melle, DeDeLicious, and Tomara Thomas, brought fierce energy to the stage. Their slick choreography was helmed by Cara Melle who took on choreographer as they prepared their number. On the other side, The M-52s, including Banksie, Kate Butch, Ginger Johnson, and Miss Naomi Carter, embraced their unique quirks in their performance but struggled with dance moves. Naomi had an injured knee, adding an extra layer of challenge.
On the main stage, in front of the judging panel, comprising of RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Graham Norton, and guest judge Sophie Ellis-Bextor, the Fierce Force Five continued to impress with their choreography and jump splits, while The M-52s decided to build their performance around a sofa due to Naomi’s knee, embracing their own brand of quirkiness.
During the “Night of a Thousand Pop Icons” runway, the queens transformed into various music legends, including Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Beyoncé x2, a Frankenstein monster version of the Spice Girls which saw Michael Maroulli transform into all five members – stitched together (iconic!), Shania Twain, Elvis Presley, Nicki Minaj, and Elton John.
Ultimately, RuPaul declared the M52s as safe and announced the Fierce Force Five as the winners of the challenge. This set the stage for a fierce and forceful lip-sync battle between the top two queens, Cara and Tomara, who fought it out to “Remember” by Becky Hill & David Guetta. In the end, Cara emerged as the winner.
With the stage set for the next episode, fans can look forward to the queens participating in Ru’s “Disaster Class”, with guest judge Suranne Jones joining the panel.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Series 5 continues to captivate viewers with its fabulous performances and unexpected twists. You can catch all the drama and glamour on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer in the UK, Crave in Canada, and WOW Presents Plus for viewers in the US and around the world.
Both versions of “Don’t Ick My Yum” are available to download and stream, right now, across all platforms, via World of Wonder Productions.
Stream both versions of “Don’t Ick My Yum on Spotify here:
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.
Stay tuned for more fierce runway moments, lip-sync battles, and unexpected twists in this series’ quest for drag supremacy.
