Drag

“Just an absolute joy”: Fans praise Drag Race UK’s heartwarming makeover episode

By Jordan Robledo

16th November 2024

BBC Pictures

This week’s heartwarming episode of Drag Race UK had fans (including us) bawling their eyes.

Spoilers ahead.

For this week’s maxi-challenge, the six remaining queens – Marmalade, Kyran Thrax, La Voix, Charra Tea, Rileasa Slaves, and Lill – were asked to team up with family for an epic drag makeover.

“Queens, we all know that the unconditional love of family is a gift and now it’s your chance to return that love. For this week’s maxi-challenge, you need to glam your fam by turning your kinfolk into members of your drag family,” Ru explained.

“Now, later today, each family is cordially invited to a meeting in the Ladies Room, where I’ll get a chance to shake your family tree. Tomorrow, on the main stage, we’ll be looking for a strong drag family resemblance.”

The pairings were as follows: Charra and her mother Pamela; Rileasa and her sister Channi; Lill and her mother Angela; Kyran and her partner Ritchie; Marmalade and her mother Deborah; and La Voix and her dad Richard.

After Ru’s exit, the queens dispersed across the workroom to catch up with their respective family members and plan out their makeovers.

“My dad, he’s nearly 80. There’s such a caretaker role in this. You don’t want to make them feel so nervous and so uncomfortable. I just want to make sure my dad’s having fun every step of the way,” La Voix said in a confessional.

Of course, the preparation process was filled with hilarious moments ranging from Lill and Angela’s witty banter to Kyran asking La Voix if her father would be tucking.

BBC Pictures

BBC Pictures

Amid the chaotic makeovers, the ladies headed to Ru’s Ladies’ Room sitdown, with Charra and Pamela being the first pair up to the plate.

During their session, Pamela gushed about Charra and her drag journey, stating: “This is my absolute darling. Whatever makes him happy makes me and his dad happy. Truly.”

When asked where her “generosity of the heart” comes from, Charra’s mother added: “He’s just our life, and we just adore him. But I just think that’s natural that everybody feels the same. But maybe they don’t.”

The next queen to enter the Ladies Room was Rileasa and her sister Channi, who opened up about their close bond growing up.

When Ru asked Channi if she had done drag before this challenge, she responded: “Never. He’s the one that does all the drama and stuff. When everything is on, I have that moment where I’m like, this proud sister. Like, ‘Yes! You are in your element! And he gets to be himself and everything. It’s just brilliant.”

BBC Pictures

BBC Pictures

Towards the end of their sit down, Rileasa got emotional while praising her sister for being supportive.

“It’s overwhelming. It’s a lot. It means a lot. And I think it’s being able to fully be yourself and to have your nearest and dearest love you regardless I think they have for me – it’s a lot,” she explained while holding back tears.

Lill and her mother, Angela, also had an emotional Ladies Room chat, especially when discussing the former’s coming out experience.

BBC Pictures

BBC Pictures

“Lill, at the time, was at college, and I felt that there was a change in Lill’s demeanour. He seemed angry, troubled. So I asked you, didn’t I? I just came straight out with and said, ‘I need to ask you a question, and I don’t want you to be offended, but if you are struggling with this, you need to know it’s fine,'” Angela explained.

‘”Do you think you might be gay?’ You actually said, ‘Well, I might be.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s fine. Work it out. I’m your mum, and I always will be.'”

Overcome with emotion, Lill added: “I just can’t imagine it any other way. It’s just how we are.”

BBC Pictures

Kyran and Richie were the next pair to kiki with Ru. When asked about their emotional reunion in the workroom, the talented drag performer revealed that her partner had recently lost their dad.

“Kyran and I lived with my dad. He was such a fan. He just loved you and your drag and he was so excited for this journey,” Richie explained.

“Obviously, it’s been really tough, and you’re not sure, like, whether you’re supposed to be out having fun and doing exciting things, but I can’t really think of anything better to do right now than come and support you, which is ultimately, like, what he would want me to do.”

BBC Pictures

BBC Pictures

Ru was then treated to Deborah’s charisma when she and Marmalade entered the Ladies Room.

When Marmalade was questioned about the similarities she shared with her mother, the talented seamstress said: “Well, I’m very gorgeous. I think me and my mum have a very similar sense of humour.”

Deborah added: “Marmalade is a mini-me. He critiqued my clothes at the age of eight. [He] went, ‘No.’ Gave me advice, laughed at me a lot, but was always there.”

BBC Pictures

BBC Pictures

The last queen up to the plate was La Voix and her father, who expressed the importance of supporting your queer child.

“I’d like to think I was sending a message out to other families, parents, who… and I think it’s terrible, when their sons or daughters come out, as they do, they’re shunned. I think that’s totally wrong, and it upsets me. Cos, after all, he is my son,” Richard exclaimed while holding back tears.

The next day, the ladies and their dragged-up family members headed to the runway for their makeover debuts.

BBC Pictures

BBC Pictures

Following their iconic presentations, the judges’ panel – which included Big Brother UK host AJ Odudu – shared their critiques and heartwarming reactions to the family collaboration.

“Welcome, Ladykins. You are an exceptional group of queens. And now we can see that it runs in the family, which, of course, makes our job extremely difficult,” Ru exclaimed.

While all the queens did incredibly well, Marmalade was named the challenge winner, resulting in Charra and Rileasa landing at the bottom.

To Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up,’ the two talented laid it all out on the stage, delivering camp, drama and 80s realness.

BBC Pictures

Ultimately, Ru asked Rileasa to stay in the competition and Charra to sashay away.

“I have had the best time and what I’ve done here, I am so proud of. I thought I was going home first. The fact that I’m still here on week eight is insane. So I feel amazing,” Charra said in her exit confessional.

Next week on Drag Race UK season six, the queens will be tasked with roasting the eliminated queens.

Here’s how fans reacted to the latest episode:

Check out Charra Tea’s full GAY TIMES interview here or below.