RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series 8 premiered on BBC Three on September 3, 2026, and the race for the crown reaches its climax with the finale on November 5, 2026. Twelve queens entered the werkroom for ten weeks of runways, lip syncs, and Rusicals, competing for a £25,000 cash prize, a RuPeter badge, and the title of the UK’s Next Drag Race Superstar. RuPaul returned as host and head judge, alongside regular judges Michelle Visage, Alan Carr, and Graham Norton.
Series 8 is also a historic one: it is the final series to be co-produced by and air on the BBC before the show moves to WOW Presents Plus from 2027 onwards. The cast was revealed by the BBC on August 11, 2026, after a “Meet the Queens” teaser aired on July 29, 2026. Filming took place in January 2026, so the ages below are the queens’ ages at the time of filming.
The Finalists
Four queens made it through nine episodes to the series 8 finale. Alik, 29, from Brighton, is a well-rounded queen known for flips, tricks, and cartwheels, who also works as a drag journalist and content creator. Flesh, 25, from Westminster in London, calls herself the supermodel of Soho, with a look inspired by nineties supermodels and British fashion. Mocha, 26, from Colchester, Essex, auditioned for every single series before finally making the cast on her eighth attempt. Naya Thorn, 24, from Dudley, is a fiercely competitive theatre-style performer who won two challenges on her way to the final, including the roast in episode 9.
The Eliminated Queens
| Queen | Age | Hometown | Result |
| KY Kelly | 42 | Rugeley, Staffordshire | 5th place (episode 9) |
| Coral-Hole Mandi | 27 | Ballymena, Northern Ireland | 6th place (episode 8) |
| Anita Piss | 37 | Birmingham | 7th place (episode 6) |
| Paris Baby | 27 | Hastings | 8th place (episode 5) |
| The Delta Quadrant | 32 | Darlington | 9th place (episode 4) |
| Tequila Thirst | 39 | Chester | 10th place (episode 3) |
| ma_danni_x | 48 | The Wirral | 11th place (episode 2) |
| Lucky Roy Singh | 36 | Manchester | Withdrew (episode 2, illness) |
KY Kelly, the live-singing comedy diva of the cabaret scene, lasted until the final four hurdle, losing a lip sync to Alik in episode 9. Coral-Hole Mandi, the self-described Bikini Bottom Bimbo, won the Snatch Game episode before her elimination in the makeover episode. Anita Piss, a Birmingham queen of Jamaican and British heritage, survived five episodes before losing a lip sync to Naya Thorn. Paris Baby, the British Bajan Barbie from Hastings, went home in the Piggy Pageant episode, while The Delta Quadrant, the industrial doyenne from Darlington, departed after the Croydon Rusical. Tequila Thirst, the bubbly host, singer, and dancer, was eliminated in the Snatch Game episode, and ma_danni_x, a drag veteran of 28 years from The Wirral, was the first queen eliminated. Lucky Roy Singh, the first South Asian queen on Drag Race UK, was forced to withdraw in episode 2 due to illness.
Season Highlights
The series opened with a talent show in episode 1, where KY Kelly beat Naya Thorn in a lip sync to Raye’s “Where Is My Husband!” Episode 3 brought the Snatch Game, with Coral-Hole Mandi winning the challenge and Tequila Thirst sashaying away. Episode 4 staged “Croydon – The Rusical,” episode 5 delivered The Piggy Pageant, and episode 6 saw the queens remake Black Lace’s “Agadoo” in the Holiday Hits girl-group challenge. Episode 7’s paranormal parody “Ghost Hunties” ended with no elimination, episode 8’s Relative Beauties makeover sent Coral-Hole Mandi home, and episode 9’s roast saw Naya Thorn take the win and KY Kelly depart, setting up a four-way finale between Alik, Flesh, Mocha, and Naya Thorn.
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