Rainbow Crew is an ongoing interview series that celebrates the best LGBTQ+ representation on screen. Each instalment showcases talent working on both sides of the camera, including queer creatives and allies to the community.
Next up, we're speaking to Drag Race UK season five star Banksie.
Just five episodes in, the reign of season five's self-proclaimed "Rat Queen" has ended far too soon — Oh no it didn't! Oh yes it did! — and Drag Race UK won't be the same without her.
Digital Spy caught up with Banksie, the fashion icon of season five, to discuss that emotional lip sync and making RuPaul smirk with her cheeky exit.
There's been a lot of love and support for you online following your shock elimination. What's that been like for you personally?
It's sad and good at the same time. When you film it, you don't know what will happen when it's out or how people will warm to you. You think, "I could leave and people would say, 'Thank God.'" But I got the complete opposite reaction.
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I feel sad that people are so upset because I don't want anyone feeling upset about it. I've gone through the process of it all and processed it and I'm happy with what's happened. It's okay. But people are shocked and upset. It does make me feel kind of nice though, that people are really going to miss me.
Were you surprised to end up in the bottom after your panto performance?
I would say, "Yes," but also "No," because it was kind of a roulette. Everyone did a great job. Some people did an amazing job. No one did a bad job. There were elements of everyone's performance that were brill. I genuinely think that it was just the lowest of an amazing bunch. And that was me and DeDe.
Also, when you've got a lip sync that's "I Dreamed A Dream" by Susan Boyle... If that one judge connects with you, then you're in. Maybe I just missed the mark on connecting with Ru, even though I did stare her down very intensely.
You were both brilliant in the lip sync. And it's not an easy song to perform either. There aren't any big, crazy moves you can throw out there.
You can fudge all the lyrics you want if you're doing a backflip. With that one, you need to know every vibration of Susan Boyle's voice in this song.
What was going through your head during the lip sync given that it was such a challenging, emotional one?
I knew that DeDe was really, really quite overwhelmed. When you're doing your first lip sync, it's a lot. It's really intense. But you know what? I felt the most overwhelming sense of calm. I just knew it in my head.
As soon as Ru said, "You're up for elimination," I just took a really big deep breath and was like, "This is gonna be a real bummer, babes. Let's just really have a nice time." And I really enjoyed it.
I think it's evident because I don't cry when I leave or get upset or angry. I'm just a little bit, "Oh, I'm not gonna be here tomorrow. Never mind." Because honestly, it was a great experience at the end to do that song, to perform on the main stage.
If I'd got to the end and won it without lip syncing on the main stage of RuPaul's Drag Race, I'd feel like I'm missing out a little bit.
It was extremely iconic watching you walk down the runway one more time after RuPaul had already told you to sashay away. Was that planned or spontaneous in the moment?
Really spontaneous. At that point, that weird sense of calm might have also been delusion [Laughs].
I remember when I went to the back, I thought, "I've got to do something that makes me memorable and stand out." It was either going to be, "RuPaul, I'm not going. You made a mistake, love." Or It was going to be, "Let me walk the runway one more time," and I thought that was a bit more respectful.
She could have easily said no, and cut it out. And it was as it was. I said, "One more time?" and she said, "Yep, go for it." It was gracious of her to give me that one more opportunity.
I did wonder if Ru might have been a bit surprised or annoyed, but she did seem fine. Was her energy good in the moment?
I stood there and we looked each other in the eye. I remember staring her down and being like, "I'm not leaving without walking the runway." She smirked and was like, "Yeah, go for it." That, to me, was the best bit of the whole experience.
So much was missed from the critiques in the edit. There were so many amazing moments in this critique. I spoke about my Nan and that wasn't put in, but that was lovely.
There was another part where RuPaul said that I was really nervous. I was like, "What do you mean?" She said, "Well, you've got that twitch, haven't ya?" I said, "I don't have a twitch," and she said, "Yeah, you do have a twitch."
I've just been medically diagnosed with a twitch by RuPaul [Laughs].
As Cheddar Gorgeous is in your drag family and just competed last year, have you had a chance to talk about your experiences on the show together?
When the series aired, Cheddar gave me some really good advice about really enjoying the moment. The thing that stuck with me is that she enjoyed her moment massively.
But there were obviously moments in this where you can focus on the negative and forget the good. I haven't had the longest time on this show, so every moment that was positive, I just grasped it. I've loved every minute of it. It's been the best experience of my life, honestly.
Now you've had time to reflect on your Drag Race experience and watch your episodes back, what's it been like to watch an edited version of yourself on screen?
I surrendered myself to the experience a lot. I knew producers wouldn't want me coming in on a Tuesday being like, "Now that bit should go there and that bit should go there. If you could cut that bit for me, that would be really nice."
They're not going to love that, so I knew that if I was the best for them, then they'd paint me in a good light. So I just kind of relaxed to the whole thing. I was really happy with the way I came across.
When we watched the first episode, we had a big viewing party in Manchester with loads of friends, family and stuff. I went on the screen, Vil burst into tears, crying for about three hours constant. I go, "Why do you keep crying?" and she was like, "You're just as silly as you are in real life!"
So I'm just happy they showed the weird, neurodivergent, creepy, little, lanky bastard that I know I am. A lot of my friends and family were worried that I'd come across as like, "Diva momma diva diva." I'm not like that but sometimes a bit [Laughs]. I came across quite real. Thank you to the editors and thank you to the producers. I trusted them and they trusted me.
Looking back, is there anything you would change or would you do it the exact same all over again?
So here's a little bit of insider gossip for ya. You know my first runway, the red and nude canvas dress? The graffiti dress. That was originally my finale look. I swapped my first episode and finale looks really last minute. I was just like, "I'm gonna go home. I need that one. Let's start with that one!"
But funnily enough, I think I'd go back and swap them again because I think that — you'll see at the finale — my first episode dress that I'll now wear at the finale was actually really good.
You've been so wonderfully open and honest during your time on the show. Your experiences have really resonated with a lot of people. Is there a particular message that you'd like to share now that you perhaps didn't get the chance to before?
Something that I didn't get a chance to say, something that's obviously happening right now, is being trans is not a criminal act. It's being looked at by our government and people in the media as this really dark, seedy, terrible thing. That we need to be segregated from "normal" people.
Me and my partner, we went to the NHS a couple weeks back. The experience we had on the ground with NHS workers was correct pronouns, correct name, mixed wards. Everybody was just there to be protected and respected and healed. That's all the NHS is there to do.
Don't listen when they try and vilify us because we are real people. There are trans people working in the NHS, the fire brigade, in offices... Everywhere across this country, there are trans people. We're not all go-go dancers like me [Laughs].
Thank you for sharing that. What are you most proud of when you look back at your time on Drag Race?
My proudest moment probably was the chat with Vicki in the mirror. The response that I've had from people, from trans couples, single trans people who have had to leave their partners...
Loads of different groups of people in the trans community with different romantic situations, just feeling seen, and just being seen in a positive light instead of the negative light that the government is constantly trying to push us under.
It's nice to be on the BBC talking about trans people where the main focus of that conversation was love. It wasn't that she was trans, it was love.
RuPaul's Drag Race UK airs on BBC Three in the UK and streams on WOW Presents Plus in the US.
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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
