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 Cara Melle.
You know what really icks our yum? Watching Miss Melle sashay away before she had a chance to snatch the crown in season five of Drag Race UK. But when life gives you lemons, it's time to make lemonade, and if anyone can pull that off post-Drag Race, it's the UK's number one Beyoncé impersonator herself, Cara Melle.
Digital Spy caught up with the sweet, salty and sticky Goddess to discuss this week's untimely exit and what was going through her mind in those final moments on screen.
Your entrance in episode one was perhaps the most iconic we've ever seen on Drag Race UK. What was the thought process behind that look and telling us all to "Kneel for your Goddess".
It was my favourite moment and one of my favourite outfits that I wore as well.
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I exude this goddess energy so what better way to come into the werk room and let these bitches know who I am and not to mess with me by telling them to kneel.
At first, I was just going to say, "Kneel". Then the outfit came. I was loving how it gave Xena: Warrior Princess meets some sort of Dungeons and Dragons character. Then I was like, "Ooh, I want a staff," so I could bang it as I entered. It was Gandalf's staff. I painted it gold. I had to do it for all the queer nerds out there.
There's a lot of us out there!
Myself included.
What's the fan response been like for you since your exit? A lot of people were surprised to see you go at this stage of the competition.
I was surprised too [Laughs]. I am just as surprised as you are.
The fan response has been amazing. Obviously, it's the best thing to hear people say, "You didn't deserve to go". Because it's like someone's reassuring me finally that I'm not crazy. When you're there, you're just thinking, "Damn. Am I actually delusional?"
But not everyone is meant to make it to the end. And some of the fiercest, most well-known queens in Drag Race herstory have left at the time I left. So I'm a lovely fifth alternate!
How does it feel leaving on a week where you did well? Ru herself said everyone was good this episode, so was that a positive for you or a frustrating take away?
It's frustrating because you just want everyone else to do shit [Laughs]. Please f**k it up! Seriously, f**k it up.
When we got to Untucked and we talked about our performances, we could not decide. The critiques were so neck-and-neck. When me and the girls were talking, never did we think I was in the bottom.
I felt bamboozled! What kind of trick are they playing on me? They've gotta be joking.
What was going through your mind during the lip sync? You both did such a great job with it.
Well, I was so in the moment with that lip sync, especially at the beginning. I was loving every single bit of me until I had a sudden slip, a little tumble. And then I had to recover, but in my head, all I said to myself was, "Okay. Be the best Kylie Sonique Love, bitch, and just recover."
The other things going through my mind was, "God, I did not want to send my sister home." I really didn't want to send Michael home. I didn't want to be put in that situation. It sucked. It definitely sucked.
Earlier on in the episode, you mentioned how it can be hard sometimes to not get in your head. Not just you personally, but also for anyone competing in Drag Race. Did that happen to you much? Do you feel those feelings might have held you back or were they just a small bump in the road?
I mean, I am only human. I suffer with getting in my head all the time. Just on like a daily basis. I have suffered with anxiety and depression for a long time, so it wasn't a shock. Plus, I was three months into hormones. I was the most in your head that you could be.
So being on Drag Race and literally being a pre-teen to my transition... That's the age I felt like when I was there. I felt like I was 13 years old.
Thank you for sharing that. In the same episode, there was also some talk around the lipstick message left behind by Vicki Vivacious and whether it might have been directed at you. How do you feel about that now? Have you had a chance to speak with Vicki about it?
I think we briefly mentioned it to each other once or I've mentioned it to her and I was like, "Yeah... So who were you talking about?" But you will find out who she was talking about. You will find out what's going on. Trust and believe. Just wait for it to all unravel.
But listen, I am that type of bitch where I do not play. If you want to talk about me, we're gonna talk about it. I definitely thought that it was about me because obviously I'm the loudest one in the room and people found me the most annoying [Laughs].
Are there any cut moments you wish had been included in the final edit?
Why are only arguments coming to my mind? [Laughs]
Um, no, not really. I think they included all the good bits to be honest. They did a really good job of editing this season. [Laughs]
Oh they really did. [Laughs]
I wish they had edited a little bit more of me and Banksie making up. Just because our fans are a little brutal, but that's okay [Laughs]. Like it was not even that serious for me, personally. The apologies happened within seconds. Or at least for me and her...
Are you happy with the way you were edited in general?
Oh man, I hate watching myself on TV. Like, I hate it. Just looking back... I'm the most self critical person of all time. Like literally, I will pick myself apart.
Recently I've discovered; Bitch, you need to stop screaming so much. I can hear you in the back, Miss Melle. They're having their damn mirror conversations okay? She's trying to talk about how she lost her dog or something and you over here screaming about how you got a pin in your ass.
I accidentally got a sewing needle stuck in my booty cheek. It was painful. Well, actually, it wasn't painful because I had a lot of meat back there. It's fine. I was screaming. I wish they had included that!
So I was just sitting in the mirror doing my makeup and all of a sudden it felt like a bee had stung me, or a wasp or something and I couldn't put my finger on it. But then I get up and all I see is a string attached to something coming out of my ass cheek.
I immediately knew what it was. Thank God the string was still there, because if the string was not there? Ba-by. Maybe that needle would stay up my ass forever. I pulled that motherf**ker out. It was so long. I was like, "No. No way!" So yeah. I wish they had included that.
If you could speak to the judges right now, what would you say to them?
Michelle Visage. You are mother and I want you to be best friends with my mom. Can we set up a play date? I think my mom, Michelle and Leah Remini would just be the best threesome.
Alan Carr? I have absolutely loved you ever since Chatty Man. Icon.
Graham Norton? You're fit as f**k. Yes, daddy.
And then to RuPaul, I would just be like, "I have idolised you for so long. And the fact that I'm even in your presence is just like life fulfilment right there."
Actually, my grandmother has a funny story about meeting RuPaul one time. She read RuPaul to filth.
When RuPaul still lived in Atlanta back in the day. They were in — what was the club called? I forget. But anyway, Ru saw my grandmother staring at her in the mirror. And so Ru apparently said to her, "You can keep on looking, but whatever you see, you ain't gonna get." And then my grandma goes, "Well, what I see is what I sure do not want."
I wish I got to tell RuPaul that. See if she remembers my grandma. [Laughs]
What would you like fans to take away from your time on Drag Race?
Live life in the present and don't take everything so seriously. Remember to always look on the brighter side of things and not dwell on the issues you may have or the bad comments you may get or the hatred that may hate.
Just remember where your confidence comes from. Remember that you are worthy, you are enough. That is what I always try to tell myself, that you are enough.
RuPaul's Drag Race UK airs on BBC Three in the UK and streams on WOW Presents Plus in the US.
Interested in talking about all things Drag Race? Visit our dedicated sub-forum
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.
