Queens for the Night: First look at ITV celebrity drag special
Six celebrities try their hands at being drag queens
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Your support makes all the difference.Grab your lipstick, pick up those high heels and prepare yourself for Queens for the Night, ITV’s special celebrity celebration of drag performance.
For one night only – Saturday 5 November at 8.30pm – some familiar faces will try their hands at putting on a drag show under the guidance of some well-known experts.
At the head of proceedings is Lorraine Kelly, who is a self-described superfan of drag as an art form.
She will be joined by a star-studded judging panel: singer and Spice Girl Melanie C, comedian Rob Beckett, international drag star Courtney Act and Bad Education and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie actor Layton Williams.
The six celebrities taking part in this special programme range from soap actors to boyband members to sports stars – but no one with any significant prior drag experience.
Here’s a rundown of who will be trying to master the flamboyant, entertaining skill of being a drag queen.
Simon Gregson
Coronation Street’s very own Steve McDonald is one of the six stars who will try to dazzle in drag as his new persona, Bidet Bardot.
He is teamed up with drag star Myra DuBois, and will attempt stand-up comedy as his talent.
Although he’s admitted to finding the prospect of playing another character “nerve-wracking”, Gregson has high hopes for his drag abilities.
“I think I’ll be a larger-than-life drag queen, very loud,” he predicted. “I think that fits in with me quite well.”
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Mr Motivator
The charismatic fitness figure teams up with RuPaul’s Drag Race UK alumnus Asttina Mandella to become drag queen Proteina Turner, whose special talent is lip-syncing.
Ahead of the show, Mr Motivator said that he was having “the time of his life” as Proteina and was welcoming the opportunity to do something completely different.
“When you step out of your comfort zone and you do something you’ve never done and to have the support of Asttina who is great, it’s just wonderful, especially at my wonderful age of nearly 70!” he explained.
Chris Hughes
Chris who? It’s time to put your hands together for Orla Feelz. Under the drag tutelage of Margo Marshall, the former Love Island star will show off his dancing skills – though, he admits they’re limited.
“I can just about manage a Tik Tok dance and that’s as far as it goes,” he said ahead of the show.
Explaining his decision to take part in the show, Chris said that he wanted to do his part to stand up against stigmas of men expressing themselves.
“I want to be a drag queen because in this world there’s so much toxic masculinity issues, it’s stigmatised,” he said.
“I’m a man and we should be able to cry. It’s great to be able to break that stigma down and people should be able to be themselves. If you want to cry, if you want to wear heels, if you want to wear makeup, it doesn’t matter who you are, you should be able to do your thing.”
George Shelley
Union J and I’m a Celebrity 2015 runner-up George Shelley will be using his vocal talents to sing as his new drag queen self, Dame Shelley Sassy.
Taking part in a show like this has long been a goal for Shelley. He explained: “I’ve always wanted to do drag, I love art and this is an art form and it’s always something I’ve seen other people do and I’ve really respected them.
“I want to put myself in their shoes, quite literally in their heels, and this will be an amazing opportunity to break free. This must be the most out-of-the-box thing I have ever done in my career.”
Adam Woodyatt
We know Adam Woodyatt best as his EastEnders character Ian Beale, who played from 1985 to 2021.
However, it’s time for us to become acquainted with his drag alter ego, Madame MiMi D’YooYoo. With the help of RuPaul’s Drag Race star Kitty Scott-Claus, he will perform impressions in front of the panel and the many viewers at home.
Although he has performed in drag for Children in Need before, Woodyatt has stated that Queens for the Night is a completely different challenge and acknowledged all the things that may not go to plan on stage.
“What can possibly go wrong?” he began. “Well, I can forget my lines for one. I could trip over the dress. I could trip over my heels and my wig could fall over my eyes. Who knows what could happen on the night!
Joe Marler
England rugby star Joe Marler transforms into Trixie Turnover for his drag attempt and will showcase magic tricks as his talent.
Blu Hydrangea, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs The World, features as Marler’s fairy godmother of sorts, guiding him into his new persona.
Speaking ahead of the show, the rugby player noted some of the qualities he believed makes a successful drag queen.
“Strong calves are probably up there, but the main one is the ability to free yourself up, let yourself go and just go with the character as much as you can,” Marler said. “You can’t panic too much about what people are going to think.”
Queens for the Night will air on ITV on Saturday 5 November at 8.30pm.
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