RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series 5 cast: Meet the queens battling it out for the crown

After all, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is like a box of chocolates: You never know what delicious delight you’re going to get. Series five is no exception, with sickeningly-sweet runway looks, some jaw-dropping lip-syncs, and a new group of queens to get obsessed with.

These queens arrive on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three when RuPaul's Drag Race UK series five starts on Thursday 28 September at 9pm.

If that wasn't enough, each episode will also be followed by The After Shave with Danny Beard, in which last year's winner will dish on all the drama with that week's eliminated queen.

Let’s open the lid on this year’s cast of queens and find out which one is going to be our favourite treat.

READ MORE: A beginner’s guide to RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, from A to Z

Alexis Saint-Pete, 29, London

If Alexis Saint-Pete was a chocolate, she would be: The finest Polish praline.

Alexis came to London from Poland at the age of 12 to follow her dream of becoming a ballet dancer.

Her dream of being the “Polish Billy Elliot” didn’t work out but she soon discovered drag - and her dance experience definitely helped when it came to putting on a show.

Describing an Alexis show, she promises “splits, kicks, turns, tricks…I’ve got it all”.

As the first Polish queen in Drag Race her-story, the self-described “clown in a supermodel body” is hoping to make her former home proud.

Banksie, 23, Manchester

If Banksie was a chocolate, she would be: A Curly Wurly - incredibly tall and iconic.

In drag, Banksie is over seven feet tall - perhaps making her one of the tallest queens ever to strut the Drag Race stage.

This particular seven-foot supermodel is obsessed with all things burlesque, and loves to channel the “dark, horrible women” of the 1930s and 1940s with a modern twist.

Alongside their “drag gender non-conforming parental figure” (and series four runner-up) Cheddar Gorgeous, Banksie is on a mission to disrupt your preconceived notions of what drag is.

Cara Melle, 26, London

If Cara Melle was a chocolate, she would be: Sweet caramel (or should that be Cara Melle) perfection, of course!

Cara Melle may have been born in Atlanta, Georgia in the US, but since moving to London she has become a legend for her high-energy performances and uncanny Beyoncé impersonations.

Growing up, Cara Melle says she never saw a black trans woman on TV, so she is being the change she wants to see in the world by being loud and proud on the BBC.

A self-described “lip-sync assassin”, queens should be wary of taking on Cara Melle when it comes to performing.

DeDeLicious, 20, Kent

If DeDeLicious was a chocolate, she would be: A salted caramel - classic, but with a modern twist (and in a stunning wrapper).

This might be DeDe’s first time on Drag Race UK, but viewers have seen her handiwork before. She has designed outfits that queens have worn on the show, including a number of gorgeous gowns worn by her drag sister, series three winner Krystal Versace.

Speaking of her Krystal connection, DeDe says, “she’s sex on legs, I’m a clown on stilts”.

A performer who likes to combine glamour with silliness, she believes she has everything it takes to match her sister and take the crown.

Ginger Johnson, 34, County Durham

If Ginger Johnson was a chocolate, she would be: Brightly-coloured and fun, Ginger’s drag is a box of Smarties brought to life.

Ginger Johnson describes herself as “a helium balloon in the shape of a woman,” which gives you an idea of the kind of silly, campy drag that she has delighted audiences with for the last 15 years.

She loves to take serious things and present them in a silly way.

A writer, director, a puppeteer… Ginger says she loves a challenge. And she’s done it all: Writing, directing, performing cabaret shows and even dealing with projectile vomiting singers as a karaoke host. If that wasn’t enough, she’s a talented creative who makes her own costumes and props for her live shows.

Kate Butch, 26, Buxton

If Kate Butch was a chocolate, she would be: A chocolate-covered Werther’s Original - “mentally, I’m in my mid-60s,” says Kate.

As a drag stand-up comedian inspired by the eccentric singer Kate Bush, expect Kate Butch to have you Running Up That Hill and rolling in the aisles.

The Babooshka-inspired bombshell describes herself as “the Comic Sans of drag”. She is inspired by the “quirky, theatrical” style of her namesake, and describes her drag style as “Hollywood starlet with a migraine”.

There is more to her, however, than just making people laugh. She can also sing and act, skills which have helped her get to the (Wuthering) heights of Drag Race UK.

Michael Marouli, 39, Newcastle

If Michael Marouli was a chocolate, she would be: A fruity liqueur chocolate...filled with Newcastle Brown Ale.

Michael Marouli is a Geordie lass who left Newcastle for a life of sun and sequins on Gran Canaria - the Spanish island she describes as a “concrete gay jungle”.

Starting her career as a male-presenting performer, Michael Marouli started performing in drag a few years later and has now been doing it for 15 years.

After doing “every drag gig imaginable,” she is back to take the UK by storm. As an all-round entertainer who can host, perform, sing and do comedy, Michael is ready to spread her magic across the Drag Race UK challenges.

Miss Naomi Carter, 23, Doncaster

If Naomi Carter was a chocolate, she would be: Delicious on the outside, but with a surprise centre and a saucy streak.

Visually, she’s a glamorous dancing queen, equally inspired by Naomi Campbell and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter – the two people who inspired her drag name. When she talks, however, she is pure Doncaster (a place she lovingly calls “dirty Donny”). “I might be a small-town queen,” she says, “but don’t you dare underestimate me.”

Naomi has been doing drag for five years, with her first look being for a Pride she attended with her mum. After applying for the last three seasons, she is now ready to represent her Gambian heritage and death drop her way to the crown.

Tomara Thomas, 25, Hartlepool

If Tomara Thomas was a chocolate, she would be: Silky smooth on the outside, but a little nutty inside.

Tomara describes herself as “a showgirl,” and as a dancer trained in musical theatre, she certainly knows how to put on a high-energy, leg-kicking and hair-whipping show. Growing up in a town where there were no gay bars, she’s moved to London where she has become a star of the drag brunch scene.

She’s not just a dancing queen, however. She describes herself as “stunning, hilarious and down for a laugh”. 

Vicki Vivacious, 36, Cornwall

If Vicki Vivacious was a chocolate, she would be: A classic, classy truffle, dusted with the finest Cornish sea salt.

Vicki Vivacious has gone from farmland to fabulous to take on series five.

The cabaret queen of Cornwall with a love of musical theatre, Vicki Vivacious is a hard-working performer, often working between six and nine shows a week. For one of those gigs, she tours barracks, bringing her drag magic to entertain the armed forces.

Describing herself as a “glamourpuss with the mouth of Kerry Katona,” Vicki is the first Cornish queen to bring her pasty power onto Drag Race UK.

RuPaul's Drag Race UK series five and The After Shave with Danny Beard start on Thursday 28 September at 9pm and 10:15pm.