‘Drag Race U.K.’s Gothy Kendoll Expected to Do Worse Than She Did

Oh, and that runway look was Mugler, thank you very much!

*This story contains spoilers about RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K. season 1, episode 1. In the U.K, viewers can watch the show on Thursday nights on BBC Three. Others can watch the show either via WOW Presents Plus or Logo. 

It’s truly finally here. RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K. has officially arrived and brought with it 10 competing queens, and a seven-member Brit Crew (up from the five we initially knew about). Well, there were 10 queens. And then there was that lip sync.

 The episode followed the general Drag Race format: we met the queens, they were thrown into a mini-challenge, and then we did the maxi-challenge which doubled as the week’s runway. The mini-challenge, allowed them to show a bit of humor by digitally imposing their severed heads into another photo with their bodies. It was … fine and sponsored by no one, which was refreshing!

For the maxi-challenge, the queens had to bring two looks to the runway: one inspired by their hometown, and one inspired by queen Elizabeth. The Vivienne won — and she rightfully should have — the “coveted” Ru Peter badge, in lieu of an Amercan-style glitzy trip. The bottom two were Vinegar Strokes and Gothy Kendoll. And then there was that lip sync.

Vinegar pulled a bit of a hat trick with wig reveals and our poor, beautiful, Gothy look queen pulled out three fingers to count along to Dua Lipa’s “New Rules.” It looked just like it sounded. You know who went home.

Here, we talk to Gothy — who, to be fair, wore a vintage Thierry Mugler blazer on the runway in true look queen style — about that performance, insecurities, and finding her way in drag.

Let’s get this out of the way: Let’s talk about this lip sync. I know you hadn’t done a lip sync performance before. 

I expected it to be a lot worse than what it was! I know it wasn’t the best lip sync ever, but I think for the first time ever in front of the two most important judges in the world when it comes to drag, I did pretty well. I don’t have any problems with it.

Going back to the beginning of the episode, not long after you made your entrance, you made a comment about the older queens on the show. I know you’ve done a lot of research sort of studying drag queens before the show and I’m wondering if you still feel the same way?

I feel like on the show we had a lot of traditional queens. Which I think is amazing and I really respect the queens that came from that kind of background; it’s where drag came from. I think it’s incredible. But what I wanted to show is the new wave of drag, and my style of drag, which is a lot different compared to theirs. I have a lot of respect for them, I think they are amazing, but I think I have something to offer.

Maybe my comment was a bit bitchy but it’s a bitchy show. 

You also mentioned an insecurity you have with your teeth, as well. How important was mentioning that while on the show?

Yeah, I’m glad I mentioned that because there were a couple of issues that I had. It’s actually the main reason why I haven’t gone the performance route, because I didn’t want to be onstage and have everyone staring at my biggest insecurity. But since the show, I’ve had my teeth done, I’ve had a bit more experience in performing and getting onstage and hosting events and stuff like that. So since the show, I’ve grown a lot but I’m glad I showed that kind of raw emotion when it came from my insecurity. I’ve got a lot of messages of people saying the same thing so it’s really nice to empathize with people and give them advice and stuff like that.

How is the drag scene in your hometown of Leiceister?

Well I’m from Leiceister but I’ve only just moved back. I’ve never done drag here, really. There’s no drag scene and no gay scene. I actually studied in Leeds and then moved to Manchester, and they have a really big drag scene. 

Do you feel the diversity of the scene in Manchester and Leeds was represented on the show?

Yeah. In Manchester I have a little drag family; we all look similar and have the same aesthetic. But in Manchester there’s loads of different kinds of queens: there’s campy queens, look queens, club kids, all that kind of stuff. It’s such diversity compared to the rest of the UK. Leeds, is more traditional where it’s more show girls. That’s here I started doing drag and that’s probably why I moved because I was doing something different — but I was still nominated one of the best drag acts while I was there. 

What was something people didn’t get to see that you would have wanted them to see?

When it comes to looks, I like a lot of time to prepare them. We only had three weeks to get ready, and I didn’t have the biggest budget. The looks that I did show were a bit haphazard compared to what I do now when I have more time and more budget. I feel like I didn’t get to show the best of my aesthetic on the show, but at least I did get to go on. 

Your hometown look was Thierry Muger, I’ve read. Do you wear a lot of labels or do you make your own looks usually or is it a mix?

It’s a combination of the two really. I love vintage fashion and so if I can get my hands on something that’s vintage, looks really fab, and isn’t too expensive, then I’ll buy it. That blazer is probably my most treasured vintage piece. But I do like to also come up with my own designs or concepts and get them made professionally, or do them myself. 

Drag Race U.K.’s Gothy Kendoll Expected to Do Worse Than She Did