Hell hath no fury like a fan of Victoria Scone. Following the Cardiff queen’s knee injury in the Drag Race UK premiere, which occurred during her brilliant lip-sync smackdown with Krystal Versace, Victoria – who made herstory as the franchise’s first ever cis female competitor – was sadly forced to withdraw from the series. Unlike past competitors such as Eureka O’Hara and Veronica Green, RuPaul didn’t explicitly state whether Victoria had an open invitation for the following season, which didn’t go down well with viewers.
“Where was the open invite to season four? Justice for Victoria Scone!” tweeted one fan, while another said they will be “PISSED” if she doesn’t sashay back into the werkroom next year. Speaking exclusively with GAY TIMES, Victoria confirms that she has – wait for it! – it’s a shocker! – prepare yourselves! – not received said invitation. [Internal screaming.]
“You pretty much know as much as I know! What Ru said is what Ru said. We’re still screening season three at the moment,” she reveals over Zoom, just hours after hosting a viewing party for the episode. “If that happens, it will be very much in the future. I’ve not had an invitation as of yet, so yeah… That’s as much as I can tell you in all honesty! I just don’t know if the fans would want me to come back, it just depends on them! I don’t think they’d want me there! If the demand is there, what can I say?” As you can see from the reactions above, the demand is there. “The people are rioting! The queers are crying!” says Victoria.
Read ahead for our full interview with the star, where she spills all the T and nothing but the T on her devastating elimination, the “overwhelmingly positive” feedback from Drag Race viewers and her “surprising” choice for Snatch Game. Trust us, it’s absolute scream. Victoria also offers GAY TIMES an exclusive about her upcoming tour, which will feature a “deliciously diverse cast”. Save your coins, because the “boom-boom-jam” is coming to a UK city near you! Yes, near you!
Victoria, this hair on you… Oh my lord.
Thank you! It feels like only yesterday we were talking.
Mad isn’t it? How are you feeling after watching last night’s episode back?
Sad! So very sad. I don’t think I’ve fully processed it yet because I was doing a viewing party last night and then a gig after that, so I haven’t properly watched it and taken it all in. I’ve had lots and lots of messages, my phone’s been going mad. Yeah, just sad. It feels like it’s all over!
What was the response to your exit like at the viewing party?
It was very sad, but it was also like, ‘Oh, is that it? Okay.’ Everyone was very sympathetic and… sad. I need to think of a better word than sad!
The story I wrote last night featured the most dramatic headline I’ve ever written. I put, ‘The unthinkable has happened…’
[Laughs] Literally!
Take me back to when you were filming Drag Race and the injury happened. At the time, did you ever expect to be eliminated?
If I’m very honest, I think I was in denial with myself about how injured I was. I was obviously trying very hard to make it look like I wasn’t injured. But, there’s no stopping in Drag Race. There’s no time to rest. It’s the train that doesn’t stop, you’re either on or you’re off. So, I think I was definitely in denial and I appreciate that I needed to go, I wouldn’t have been able to perform at my best. The team looks after me incredibly and they have to put my health first, as much as we all wanted me to say. Well, I hope they wanted me to stay! It was definitely for the best. I wouldn’t have been able to give you my all.
And how are you feeling now?
It’s good. I’ve had lots of physiotherapy, luckily didn’t have to have any surgery. It was a partially torn ACL. My knee… The cold weather is making it play up a bit! I’m getting old, basically, that’s what’s actually happening here.
How did you react when the doctor said you couldn’t continue in the competition?
I’m sure you can imagine, I’m a very dramatic lady, lots and lots of tears and begging to stay, even though I knew full well that it couldn’t happen and it was the best way for me to go. Of course, I was gonna beg and beg and beg. I was like, ‘Please just let me stay! I’ll rest it and I’ll do anything.’ I had seen them setting up some sort of sewing challenge the next day, when we were packing up, so I was like, ‘It’s only a sewing challenge! I’ll be fine!’ But, no. I would not have been fine.
It was inspiring, seeing you say “hell no!” to your injury. You really lived up to your entrance line, “Hell hath no fury like a woman Scone.”
Nothing was stopping me, except my knee! Sabotaged by my own body.
That’s the worst thing, right? When a queen leaves due to issues beyond her control. You weren’t asked to sashay away…
I’ve technically not been asked to leave! It’s a shame. It’s a real shame. I feel like I’ve let everyone down a little bit. Silly to say that, but I had high hopes going in and I really thought it was gonna go very well. It was going very well, I don’t feel like I haven’t shown anything because I think I’ve shown what I wanted to show – obviously I’ve got a lot more to give. I’m proud of what I did while I was there, I just wish it was a little bit longer!
Get that thought out of your goddamn mind, you have not let anyone down!
The people are rioting! The queers are crying!
Hell hath no fury like a fan of Victoria Scone, know what I’m saying?
Very true. Petitions have started.
Yep, I’ve already seen one on change.org. This must be one of the best parts of appearing on Drag Race, seeing such amazing fan reactions?
Absolutely. It’s been bizarre for me. Really, it has. I didn’t even think Drag Race for me was ever gonna be an option, let alone the response I’ve received. I prepared myself for the worst reaction – I’m not really sure why, maybe it’s a safer bet to do as a person. Then, people seeing what I’ve done on the show, reaction is even better. Gosh, it’s very validating but you shouldn’t require the validation of others to appreciate your own work, but it is bloody lovely isn’t it? It is nice! On the other side of the spoon – I don’t know what that means – it’s a shame that it took me to get to Drag Race for people to have to see me. It’s a shame that I have to be on a show to be seen and feel validated, but that is the nature of the beast – and drag in general. Obviously, we try and not look at the comments as much as possible but we get all the notifications and things. It’s generally been very lovely, and I feel very privileged because of that. I appreciate it so much, I never thought it would happen. It’s very weird, because I just want to go out to the pub now and be a normal person, but that’s not really possible at the moment – which is very odd! I’m trying to stay grounded, I don’t think I could ever not be but I’m trying to keep my feet on the floor and not let my head get too big.
You obviously broke new ground for the franchise as the first ever cis female competitor. How do you want your Drag Race stint to impact the franchise moving forward?
More gender diversity. Please, please, do apply. I don’t know who applied, maybe cis women and trans women didn’t apply because they didn’t think it would be possible for them. So now, please do apply! I applied because I thought to myself, ‘How can I make comment or pass judgement on production for not having cis woman, if I’m not applying myself?’ so I applied, and here we are. Careful what you wish for! So please do apply if you’re a budding drag queen or a working drag queen and you didn’t think it was possible for you. It absolutely can be.
I have to talk about RuPaul’s comment, where he said will be seeing you again, but didn’t mention an open invitation. What can you tell me about that? Are you coming back for season four?
You pretty much know as much as I know! What Ru said is what Ru said. We’re still screening season three at the moment. If that happens, it will be very much in the future. I’ve not had an invitation as of yet, so yeah… That’s as much as I can tell you in all honesty! I just don’t know if the fans would want me to come back, it just depends on them! I don’t think they’d want me there! If the demand is there, what can I say?
The demand is absolutely there. I also wanted to touch upon the little dispute between you and Krystal Versace. I know it was squashed soon after, but it led to a beautiful discussion amongst the cast about body positivity and self-confidence. How have you seen this conversation impact fans?
It was a beautiful moment, you’re right, and it was completely organic. I wanted to bring it up with Krystal because I wanted to have that conversation on the show, body positivity is something that is hugely important to me. As we heard on the show, I’ve gone through eating disorders. Before drag, I was in pageantry and I won a plus-size beauty pageant. It’s something I’m so very passionate about and I’m so glad that we had the conversation and it led to other people being able to share their own stories as well. I understand that fat jokes have been around forever, it’s not that it was a fat joke. I love British humour and insult comedy, but I don’t think that was that. As Krystal learnt very quickly, there’s a way of wording things and a time and a place. It probably wasn’t needed at the time, but as you saw, we resolved it on the show. Krystal is 19-years-old. What I was doing when I was 19, we cannot discuss! She’s very very young, but I’ve been able to have the fortune to watch her develop and grow ever since we filmed. She’s such a lovely young lady and she’s blossoming. But yeah, I’ve had so many messages from people saying they related to that story; dancers, people that aren’t dancers, people who have also gone through eating disorders, people that are plus-size and love themselves, people that are plus-size and learning to love themselves. We’ve all had some sort of struggle with our bodies along the way, and I’ve come to a decision that it’s merely a vessel that I look after as much as I can, to my ability, I’m not gonna waste my life worrying about what it looks like. It carries me around, it’s got me to where I am now. I love it very much and that’s that.
It was, without a doubt, one of the most relatable Drag Race moments thus far. Victoria, I need to know: who did you plan to impersonate for Snatch Game? Or are you saving it?
I’ll tell you one of them! I was going to do, potentially, Danny Dyer, which would probably surprise you. But, I really wanted to potentially have a backup, at least, of a male character. Lots of people have been asking me to do certain people, but yeah. I’ll leave that to your imagination!
Danny Dyer… I cannot!
Can I show you a photo? Am I allowed? Can I show you a photo of Danny Dyer? It’s funny. [Shows photo of herself as Danny Dyer.]
[Me screaming].
Yep, that’s me as Danny Dyer in my audition video.
Stop it! That’s bloody brilliant. Victoria, is that really you?
[Cockney accent] You alright, babe?
STOP! This should’ve been a filmed interview, bloody hell. We need to see this.
I’m saving the actual one I was gonna do in me back pocket, just in case.
Victoria, who do you want to see take home the crown?
Me! Still me. Erm, I was talking to Charity [Kase] about this, it’s like a season of winners. Literally, anyone could win. There is no dud in this season at all. I haven’t even thought about this! I left and thought, ‘I don’t care anymore!’ I would love Charity to win. You didn’t get to see a lot of our beautiful relationship. Me and Charity formed a really lovely relationship while we were there. Yeah, I’m gonna stick with Charity. And me!
Bring back the double crowning!
I’m double crowning now!
What’s next for Victoria Scone?
I’m going on tour in about a week and a bit, a Halloween tour with Tayce, A’Whora, Miz Cracker, Ginger Minj, Coco Deville, Chiyo… I hope I haven’t missed anyone. We’re going all over the country doing a Halloween tour, and this is an exclusive – I don’t even think WOW have signed this off yet! – but I’m doing a solo tour in January and I’m taking a deliciously diverse cast around the UK with me for a few dates. That is an exclusive! Hopefully if WOW approve it, I’ll be going on tour in January. It’s called Jam-Packed. Victoria Scone Presents Jam-Packed. I’m wearing jam. I am jam. I am the boom boom jam.
The first three episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season 3 are now available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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