H from Steps: 'I wish I had Drag Race when I was a child'

Who can forget Tayce's performance to Dusty Springfield's You Don't Have To Say You Love Me or Cheryl Hole's face off against Blu Hydrangea to Call My Name in front of the actual Cheryl herself? Even this season's first lip sync between Elektra Fence and Anubis to Little Mix's Sweet Melody has gone down in Drag Race history.

The challenge on this week's episode takes this marriage of drag and UK pop music one step further, with the queens performing their versions of the latest Drag Race smash hit B.D.E (Big Drag Energy). Spice Girl Emma Bunton stopped by to judge and pop legends Steps helped guide each group through the recording process and choreography. Some of the queens were so excited to see the UK pop group that they were nearly in tears. 

"I can talk about Drag Race all day every day," Ian H Watkins from Steps tells BBC Three.

"It's my safe place. I watch it if I'm feeling a bit low or if I'm feeling great with my friends. It's the thing that I switch on if I want to feel good.

"It's taught me a lot about my queer history and why I have the privileges I have today. It's made me search to be a better gay man, I guess."

One moment that especially stood out on this week's episode was the poignant and tearful chat between H and contestant River Medway about the importance of LGBTQ+ representation after River sang about embracing her femininity. H said on the show: "This is a line that will hit home to so many gay kids out there."

"For me, that is at the core of Drag Race," the Welsh singer says.

"People find their tribe with Drag Race. I wish I'd had something like this when I was a child.

"We had pop stars on a huge scale like Elton John and Freddie Mercury, but they were untouchable.

"We never got to know the real side of them; we just got to see the performance side.

"That's where Drag Race excels because you strip away all of that and see the human behind the persona. I love that moment."

■ Victoria Scone: 'I didn't know if drag was a possibility for me'

■ Charity Kase: 'Using my platform to speak out about HIV stigma'

Now, in the UK and internationally, we have more musicians than ever - like Olly Alexander, Frank Ocean, Lil Nas X, Janelle Monáe and Sam Smith - who can proudly celebrate their LGBTQ+ identity.

H adds: "I liken Steps to Drag Race because we have an open-door policy. It doesn't matter who you are, how you identify, whether you're able bodied, or what your sexuality is: come and be your authentic self and live your best life."

'What the UK does is unashamedly great pop music'

The last season of Drag Race proved just how much impact the music from the show could have on the charts when the United Kingdolls bing, bang bong'd their way to number 27 on the Official UK Top 40 with the inescapable UK Hun?

Indeed, this year music publicist Simon Jones, who has worked with the likes of Little Mix and One Direction, and G-A-Y nightclub owner Jeremy Joseph formed their own record label, Intention Records, to help propel UK drag talent into the charts.

So far, they've signed former Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne, Tia Kofi and Veronica Green.

Bimini Bon-Boulash released a punk-inspired debut single God Save This Queen this year, too.

"I just think Drag Race is going from strength to strength," says H. "We should do a Drag Race and Steps collaboration!"

Of course, a pop star is nothing without a huge pop banger or sentimental ballad.

"For Steps, we always say that you need dark, melancholic lyrics with a banging beat," says H about what makes the perfect pop banger. "You need complete contradictions."

"What we look for is a bit of drama," Faye Tozer adds. "It has to have a catchy melody but I think you have to go with your gut as well. You have to tell a story. You have to be able to relate to it, no matter who you are. That's our recipe."

"What the UK does is unashamedly great pop music," H says. "We don't pretend that it's something that it's not. We just go out all guns blazing and invite people to the party. That's what it's about."

"Faye from Steps is almost like an alter-ego," Faye says. "[And] pop is a way to escape reality. It's a little bit of glitter in the grey."

RuPaul's Drag Race UK is available on BBC iPlayer.