'RuPaul's Drag Race UK' Queens on Why Season 4 Is Best Yet: 'We've Got it All'

Season 4 of RuPaul's Drag Race UK is the best edition of the show yet, the new queens shared in an interview with Newsweek.

The forthcoming season will see 12 drag queens sashay into the werkroom: Baby, Black Peppa, Cheddar Gorgeous, Copper Topp, Dakota Schiffer, Danny Beard, Jonbers Blonde, Just May, Le Fil, Pixie Polite, Sminty Drop and Starlet.

Claiming that "the talent is just off the charts," the queens teased what makes Season 4 better than the ones that came before it. They also talk about what to expect from the guest judges and why representation is more important than ever.

'RuPaul's Drag Race UK' Queens on Why Season 4 is Best Yet: 'We've Got it All'

Reflecting on Season 4 and what it has to offer, Sminty told Newsweek: "We've got more looks. We've got more comedy. We've got more uniqueness, charisma, nerve and talent, we've got it all in a box, bundle it up whack some glitter on it and that is Season 4 in a nutshell."

When Jonbers joked that she planned to say that they "shouldn't compare to each other," Sminty added: "No baby, you've got to watch Season 4 because it's better than the rest of them."

Dakota agreed with Sminty, saying: "Every week the talent is just off the charts, and I think we'll see every week the level of drag that people brought and the level of talent, I think it's probably going to be the hardest season of judging that people watch.

"Because even weeks where people were in the bottom, or people might have been getting negative or positive critiques they were so close, there wasn't much in between the person that would have been lip synching the episode and the person who won a badge because everyone is performing at such a high level."

Pixie also said: "I think what makes this season really special is that the casting this year is incredible. Obviously every year they bring in an amazing set of drag queens, but I think this year there's such a wide variety of styles, of talents, personalities even, everyone is so strong at everything and I think it makes for a very enjoyable watch because it just means that no one watching is gonna know what's gonna happen next."

Entering the Werkroom and Meeting RuPaul

Walking into the werkroom for the first time can certainly be a daunting task for the queens, as it is their moment to introduce themselves to the world and it's also when things start to dawn on them.

Starlet, the first South African queen on the show, shared: "It hits you how real it is and like 'it's happening right now.' There's no more waiting or preparing for it, and it's also really hard because you always watch it on TV with all the sound effects and it's all edited. It's really weird just being raw, without sounds, just you there in the werkroom."

Copper felt much the same, calling the show "the queer Olympics" as she said: "It was life-changing, it is a pinch me moment and the emotions that run through your head and through your body are quite wild."

Just May joked that she "couldn't get over the smell of the amount of cheap perfume that filled that room," while Cheddar called it "a whirlwind."

"I don't know how Copper has managed to compose themselves in such a way to remember the experience, for me it was like 'Wait, wait, wait, and go!'" Cheddar said. "So, I find it very difficult to reflect on it and try and pick apart the experience emotionally, so to speak. But yeah, it was a wild ride, that's for sure."

The same goes for meeting RuPaul for the first time, the queens shared with Danny, joking that they were "s***ing a brick" the first time they met the iconic drag queen.

"It was like, 'oh my god, I can smell RuPaul.' She's the biggest drag queen in the world and to see her in the flesh, within touching distance, was actually mind-blowing," Danny added. "I can't speak for everyone, but it's something I never thought would happen in my life so to have it happen is very weird. She's like a living God."

Black Peppa joked that they "fell to [their] knees and they had to be carried out the werkroom" when RuPaul entered.

"I used to watch the show on my headphones to hide it from my parents so being in the werkroom and having this icon that I've seen on television for so long... I think it was just wild to me to even hear them say my name. I will always talk about this, just saying my name 'Black Peppa', I will never forget the way they said that the first time," they added.

The 'Best' Guest Judges

Season 4 sees a number of big names help out as guest judges, including Joanna Lumley, Mel B, FKA Twigs and Olly Alexander, and the queens are all in agreement that the best judges are the ones that are already fans of the show.

"You can always tell when they will really want it to be there, which I think is important," Just May said of the judges.

While most of the queens reflected on the guest judges in more general terms, some named specific stars as their favorites.

Baby raved over FKA Twigs' appearance on the show, saying: "When they announced the special guest judge is FKA Twigs I was in the corner just freaking out [screaming], and she was just amazing and you can tell that they are genuinely fans of the show and they actually care about Drag Race.

"They actually really care, so having that level of knowledge and expertise, it's like 'Yay, people that actually know what they're talking about are giving me a lot of really good advice that I can carry on into my life.'"

Danny picked out Alison Hammond, a TV presenter from British daytime talk show This Morning, as their favorite guest of the season: "In the UK she is a complete hun, she is like the gay's mother. She's a morning TV presenter, she's camp as t**s and she is just so excited to be there that it is a joy to watch.

"So any judge that comes on the show and is a fan and loves it, they put everything into it and it's that boost that you need."

Le Fil added: "We all respond, we can all feel the energy that comes off from the judges so it's so nice when you can have that pick me up from a judge, and also when someone gives really lovely feedback."

Representation and Why It's Important

Another aspect of the show that is really important to the queens, and viewers, is the representation they are bringing as part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Dakota reflected on being the first transgender queen on the UK edition of the show, saying: "It's a huge responsibility... and it's certainly a lot of pressure specifically for the UK because the trans people in the UK, right now, are going through a very difficult time.

"It certainly seems that we have been involuntarily brought into some very major culture wars surrounding our human rights, which sucks in 2022. I knew that I was going on to represent myself as well, and I think it was really reassuring, at least, to hear from a lot of the girls that I was representing my community but I'm also representing myself as well, and, you know, I can't represent everyone.

"That pressure was really alleviated when all my sisters were very helpful, in terms of calming me down when there might have been moments where it felt like it was getting too much. But I use it to motivate me because I can't look at the situation that my trans sisters, siblings and brothers are in in this country and sit back and ignore it, that would be very disingenuous, especially when it's affecting myself as well."

Black Peppa, who hails from Saint Martin, identifies as nonbinary, and reflecting on their journey they said: "I'm first of all representing myself, and then yes I am representing my heritage, my culture, where I'm from, the Caribbean, a lot of POCs that feel under-represented.

"And also the nonbinary community, because I struggled with my sexuality my entire life, and I'm in a fluid state, I don't see myself as being either or, so I think that was one thing for sure. I get really sensitive about these things like the padding and the breast plates, it was really good for me to know that I can be there as a representation on the show.

"Because I know there's a lot of people that feel exactly how I feel, that probably didn't see that representation in the past. So this season, in particular, having the trans representation, having nonbinary [queens] it just felt like this was definitely necessary."

Danny, meanwhile, is the first bearded queen to appear on the show in Drag Race history, something that meant they felt surprised to even compete.

"I never thought there was a place for me on a show like this so to get the call for a start was mind-blowing," Danny said. "But I didn't want to be like 'I'm here representing everyone' because it's a drag, the whole point of drag is that it can be anything you want it to be and it can be so diverse.

"I'm so lucky and honored to be the first hairy girl that RuPaul judges herself, and I hope there's more of that because there is something for everybody in drag, and drag is an extension of who you are."

Le Fil added that he was keen to help challenge gender norms: "We've all come from different places with different experiences, and even for me I've always been quite androgynous and femme my entire life even in Brighouse, and people always thought I was in drag or a woman and I'm like, 'well, no, I'm trying to show what it's like to be a guy, like different ways of presenting masculinity.

"If I put on makeup it doesn't mean that I'm necessarily a woman it's just my expression of creativity. So even when I'm on the show, my pronouns are he/him/they, it's about re-interpreting what it means to be my gender and for myself."

RuPaul's Drag Race UK Season 4 premieres on Wow Presents Plus in the U.S. on September 22 at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET.