Honestly, isn’t it wild that we managed to get three drag queens, named after a pair of iconic pornstars, into the iTunes Top 10 this week? The Frock Destroyers’ version of “Break Up (Bye Bye)”, a song written especially for last week’s quite frankly iconic girl-band episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, has catapulted a trio of blokes in dresses into the ears of unsuspecting prudes everywhere. The ‘Men are trash’ anthem, featuring verses from queens Baga Chipz, Blu Hydrangea and Divina De Campo, could have appeared on the last Little Mix album, tbh.
Right now, it seems like RuPaul’s Drag Race is having an even bigger moment over here than it is Stateside — perhaps because it’s dominated BBC iPlayer and gigantic billboards across the country every week for the past month. We’re well and truly shoving it into the homophobes’ faces. And it’s working: the series has racked up over 6.5 million hits so far, just halfway through its run.
In news that comes as a surprise to approximately no one, but a delight to many, the BBC has just announced that it will be bringing the show back for a second season next year. This suggests that everyone’s Drag Race fatigue is purely performative; we might claim to be bored but we are watching the hell out of it every time a new season gets commissioned. “I want to thank the BBC and all our fans for their overwhelming support of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK,” RuPaul said in a statement that formally announced the 2020 return. “This season’s queens proved that Britain’s Got Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent — and I want to see more!”
Once again, the gays and girls have affirmed their status as the most powerful beings on planet Earth, transforming a niche subject matter into one of the most popular reality show formats on TV.
So what’s in store for 2020? Maybe we’ll get another top 10 smash out of it? Perhaps Gothy Kendoll will return to prance down the runway in tiger make up and estate agent chic again (rAwR!)? All we know for sure is that we won’t allow season two to go ahead without Kim Woodburn, Kelly Northall and the original Cock Destroyers sitting behind that runway judging panel. We pay our TV license for a reason, BBC. Don’t you dare let us down.