It’s time to play… the Snatch Game! On this week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, the seven remaining contestants will flex their improv skills as they impersonate celebrities in a parody of the Match Game. There’s only one objective in mind for the queens while playing Snatch Game, and that is to make Mama Ru laugh. The fan-favourite maxi-challenge separates the drag queens from [insert country here]’s Next Drag Superstar, as seven winners have gone on to win the crown: Jinkx Monsoon, Bob the Drag Queen, Alaska Thunderfuck, Aquaria, Trinity the Tuck, The Vivienne and Shea Coulee. Sadly, a lot of the contestants don’t make it to this point, as it usually occurs (bar All Stars) halfway through the season. So, when we spoke to this season’s eliminated competitors – Joe Black, Cherry Valentine, Asttina Mandella, Ginny Lemon and Veronica Green – we just had to find out which famous celeb they planned to pay homage (and take the absolute piss out of) on Snatch Game, from Azealia Banks to the Mona Lisa (yep, seriously).
Joe Black
“I had a few options. In my audition, I did Mystic Meg and Edith Piaf, but then someone in Canada did Edith Piaf, so I dodged that bullet as they did very well. Every time I’ve said this to any of the other girls they’ve gone, ‘Who?’ My main choice was Tallulah Bankhead, an actress from the 30s who was far too wild for film and moved into theatre. What I like about her is her voice. The last film thing she did was play Black Widow in the 1960s Batwoman. I love a raspy voiced woman! Any woman that sound like they smoke too many cigarettes and smoke too much gin, that’s my kind of gal. I also considered Glenn Close…”
You can read the interview in full here.
Cherry Valentine
“I was gonna do… Erm, what’s she called? I forgot her name now! Gillian McKeith. It was a mix between Gillian McKeith, do you know when she did I’m a Celebrity? Or Nikki Grahame in the Big Brother house. It was going to be how I felt in the moment! I’ll probably do a little video or summit, but it’s not the same as doing actual Snatch Game. I had so many plans for it, it was going to be a gag!”
You can read the interview in full here.
Asttina Mandella
“I had a few plans, but I was either going to do Mel B – she’s from Leeds and so are my drag mother and dad – or Ricky Thompson. My third one, because I look like her and it would’ve been nice and controversial, was Azealia Banks. I remember when I was doing my audition tape, I put on a white jumper from the 212 video and put my hair in bunches and went, ‘Yeah. Hmm. This is scary, because I really look like her.’ I took a picture – I don’t know where the picture has gone because, you know, the internet and the cloud just doesn’t work – and was like, ‘This is really creepy!’ She’s just very controversial, even though her music is amazing. The gays love it and I love it, but she’s so controversial. It would’ve been a nice way to play it. Also, she’s not funny, but what she says makes you piss because she says some stupid things. It was going to be a test on me to try and make someone who is, not hated, but is a taboo person. They were the three.”
You can read the interview in full here.
Ginny Lemon
“It was a toss-up – and I still never decided, I was gonna decide on the day – between Cilla Black and the Mona Lisa. Yep, definitely. I’ve got the same smile as the Mona Lisa. I’ve got those, I don’t know what century it was, 16th century teeth. I’m very well known for doing Cilla, and I’ve got a song called Cilla Black – you should check it out, it’s quite controversial but I’m not editing it because it’s fabulous. I’m very known for singing my tribute to Cilla Black, so it was very obvious that my fans would push me to do that. But Mona Lisa, I don’t know. Something about that smile. Like this. [Ginny proceeds to strike the Mona Lisa’s iconic pose.] And then maybe a bit of this. [Ginny continues to strike the Mona Lisa’s iconic pose in a different direction.] That’s about it.Just a face, yeah. I thought if she did have to speak, she’d be from Margate. Historical facts always get mixed up.”
You can read the interview in full here.
Veronica Green
“There’s a few choices that I could’ve done. I would’ve loved to have done… The thing is, my choices are quite boring, really! I would’ve done somebody like Emma Bunton or Holly Willoughby or something like that. Thinking out of the box, I thought of maybe Jessie J. The funny thing is that I’ve done a Hilary Devey performance before, in the outside world, and Alan Carr clocked me for my Hilary Devey wig in the morning chat show challenge. He said it on the runway and I was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s actually my Hilary Devey wig,’ so I was like, ‘I’m not doing Hilary in Snatch Game anymore now!’”
You can read the interview in full here.
To hear our thoughts on the brand new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, subscribe to Snatched! an original podcast from GAY TIMES. Each week, we dissect all of the drama and conflama of the latest episode and chat with the eliminated queen, who spills all the T on their exit and time on the series. Snatched! is now available on all streaming services including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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