“Surely not, oh bollocks!” is a fitting way to begin this intro because, sigh, D-D-D-Dita Garbo’s time on Drag Race UK has come to an e-e-e-end (too much?).
For their third maxi-challenge, the queens of season six were tasked with over-acting in British rom-com trailers, before showcasing their ‘New Romantics’ runways on the main stage. While she breathed power (as per) on the runway, Dita’s acting chops and delivery of the aforementioned line landed her in the bottom two, where she was defeated by lip-sync assassin Kiki Snatch.
Although Dita, icon and mother, admits that she had trouble in the challenge and won’t be vying for an Academy Award anytime soon, her bottom two status didn’t… align with her fantasy. “Sometimes the runway saves you, right?” says Dita. Shade incoming: “I mean, I felt fantastic and when I looked at some of the other girls I thought, ‘Oh… let’s just see what’s said!’”
Despite their abrupt departure, Dita has made an undisputed mark on Drag Race UK as the oldest-ever queen to compete on the British franchise. Additionally, she broke new ground this week when she represented non-binary people of an older generation (non-Gen-Z’s, basically) when she opened up about her gender identity with Kiki. “Growing up in the 80s, it wasn’t something that I knew existed,” Dita tells GAY TIMES. “Hopefully, the conversations I’ve had on TV might allow other people to tell their best friend or their partner or whoever.”
Read ahead (or watch below!) for our full interview with mother Dita, where she reflects on her Drag Race UK season six experience and elimination, who should’ve lip-synced in her place and her “wretched” character for the Snatch Game.
D-D-D-D-Dita Garbo: icon, legend, mother. How are you doing today? Post-Porn Idol!
Oh my god, that was quite fun. I feel good! I’ve had time to absorb and see the episode, and it feels good, actually.
When I do these interviews, I try to be impartial with the queens. But, you were one of my top picks this season, so I’m quite devastated over your departure.
Aww, thank you. I’m devastated too. It’s a competition and these things happen, but thank you for your kind words.
Truly, I am a Dita Garbo stan. Do you have a name for your fans yet?
Do you know what, I’ve been thinking about this and I don’t know whether to call them the Garbos or the Garbozons. Friends! No specific name yet.
I really thought your runway would save you this week. You exuded fierceness and power. How did you feel about the judges’ critiques and their decision to put you in the bottom?
Obviously, the acting challenge I had some struggles with, so I thought I might be in a lower position. I did think that my runway would save me because sometimes the runway saves you, right? I mean, I felt fantastic and when I looked at some of the other girls I thought, ‘Oh… let’s just see what’s said!’ It was difficult. I think because I’m not naturally a screaming out there queen, RuPaul [thought I was] very subdued and they wanted me to fight a little bit.
I enjoyed you in the challenge because…
I didn’t think it was that bad!
Your delivery of “surely not, oh bollocks!” had me cackling. I think that’s how I’d react to bad news, too.
Well, news like that, you can’t just be full of emotions straightaway. You need to process it, right? So, that was just me processing that my “partner” died.
Shady question: do you think another queen should’ve been in the bottom two instead of you? If so, who?
Yes, I think personally – not necessarily by the acting, but from their runway presentation, that it would be Zahirah Zapanta and Kiki Snatch. I don’t wanna swear online but, when Zahirah was safe, a few words entered my head, should we say…
I want to know these words…
I’ll leave that to your imagination.
There was a bit of drama this episode with Chanel O’Conor and Marmalade, and later you and Kyran Thrax and Zahirah in Untucked. What is it like being in that environment, where you’re being judged on such a monumental scale?
When you film Drag Race, it’s very fast-paced and there’s a lot of time schedules and restraints, so you don’t have the luxury of time. Also, you are thrown things left, right and centre, so it does get in your head. You are not around your regular friends and family and people that you can connect with just to ground you again. So, yeah it’s difficult. Emotions are heightened, shall we say.
If I was in that environment, I’d be screaming, crying, breaking down, throwing up.
I mean, the cameras are on you, so you don’t want to just do that all the time. I mean, you’ve got to try and show some dignity and strength as well. For me, last night’s episode, the day it was filmed, was a very emotional day for me. It was one of those things that was just in the back of my mind, was just niggling, and I couldn’t get rid of it. I couldn’t concentrate fully on what I was actually doing that day, which is tough, but I’m a human being. So, we all go through this at some point.
And in a competition [environment], all these girls are out to get you! So, Chanel was the only person that I’d spoken to the day before, just to let somebody know that, ‘Tomorrow, if I’m not myself, at least you know what it is.’ So, when see Chanel come over to me and La Voix’s like, ‘Maybe Chanel’s not the best person to do that,’ it’s because she actually knew. We’d had a conversation the day before, so she actually knew what was going through my head. Whereas, none of the other girls did because I didn’t think it was fair to say to the other girls, ‘Just to let you know, tomorrow all this is going to be going on in my head.’ It’s a competition and I don’t want to put that on the other people and have that as kind of a sympathy thing for myself.
Although this was your final episode, it felt like your episode. From opening up about your non-binary identity to “surely not, oh bollocks!” and your Untucked conflict and elimination, this was all about Dita. I mean, having so much screen time is a great way to go, right?
Oh yeah! I mean, obviously from the get-go, there’s 12 of you – so you’re not all going to get the same amount of screen time. So, it was really lovely to see, actually. And Kiki and I, we had to lip-sync against each other but we are very close as sisters. Just being able to face that conversation with somebody was really lovely, and it brought us closer in that moment.
Like you said, it feels rare for a queen who’s not of the Gen-Z variety to discuss their non-binary identity on Drag Race – or television in general. So, what did it mean for you to do that?
I guess I rediscovered myself and realised that, actually, being non-binary is and has been me all my life. Growing up in the 80s, it wasn’t something that I knew existed. I also came out of a bad relationship a few years ago and my new partner I’m with now has allowed me to explore myself and just see how I felt. I wish that I’d have known that about myself from a younger age. But equally, I’m so happy and free and feel 100% authentically myself now. So, there’s no specific point or time in your life that something should happen. I meet a lot of older generation and it’s hard, I think for those people to come out of the closet. I came out of the closest when I was 16, and then it’s doing it all over again. As LGBT, queer people, we have to come out of the closet to everybody all the time.
What kind of impact would you like or hope that conversation with Kiki to have on viewers, particularly those who might be having a similar experience to you?
Just to know that there are people like you out there, and if you want to reach out to me, I’m an open book. I do over 55 bingo events and whenever I’m doing something like that, I always open up a discussion for people if they want to come and ask me anything or talk to me about gender. People do have questions and I think you should allow and invite people to feel comfortable. Hopefully, the conversations I’ve had on TV might allow other people to tell their best friend or their partner or whoever if there’s something there.
Dita, I love bingo. Where might we find you at a bingo gig?
I haven’t currently got any bingo’s booked, but hey, let’s do one.
In a few months I want to be at a Dita Garbo bingo gig with my “surely not, oh bollocks!” t-shirt. That’s my fantasy.
Would you like regular bingo with the numbers or musical bingo?
Let’s do it as gay as motherfucking possible with musical bingo.
Musical bingo is the best.
You didn’t make it to the iconic Snatch Game. Are you willing to reveal who you would’ve impersonated?
I was really looking forward to Snatch Game. It’s one of those things where you either love it or hate it and I was just like, ‘You know what? Go in there and just do it.’ So, my character was the wretched Tooth Fairy. She would love to take your teeth.
She sounds scary, but sexy?
I’m going to release all my photos from looks I’ve not done, so keep following me because you’ll see them all. But yeah, she’s quite wretched because she’s got teeth coming out of her cheeks, out of her head. She’s not the prettiest of girls, shall we say. But she’s fun, and she says it like it is.
Oh, well I take back what I said about sexy then…
She can still be gorgeous in her mind!
Finally, what do you aim or want or hope to achieve with your platform now that you’re a RuGirl? And, it bears repeating, a mother to the LGBT’s.
It’s funny, one of our nephews who’s straight was like, ‘Why does everyone keep calling you mother?’ For me, going forward, I’ve always been a champion for our community and pushing boundaries. I’ve gone into schools and I’ve done workshops on gender and stereotypes. I think it’s just about being visible and continue breaking down those boundaries that allow us to be normal. Even if you’re not part of the LGBTQ+ community, it doesn’t mean you can’t wear pink if you’re a boy or play with dolls. Everything is for everyone.
Glitter… is for everyone.
Glitter and rhinestones!
Drag Race UK season 6 is streaming in the UK on BBC iPlayer.
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