Glasgow’s own Lawrence Chaney makes history by winning the title of the UK’s next drag superstar.
Glasgow-based drag queen Lawrence Chaney has been crowned the winner of the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Chaney was awarded the title of the UK’s Next Drag Superstar in the show’s finale, beating out fellow contestants Bimini Bon Boulash and Tayce in a final lip-sync for the crown.
Chaney, 24, is the first queen from Glasgow to be cast on the show and is currently one of only two contestants from Scotland to appear on a Drag Race UK season. The other contestant, Dundee queen Ellie Diamond, ranked fourth, having also survived to the finale. Readers may also recognise Chaney from their appearance in the SPT’s “My Glasgow, My Subway” campaign from a few years ago.
With three main challenge wins from the season, Chaney was consistently given praise throughout for their charisma, humour, and hard-working attitude. During the final deliberation, judge Graham Norton discussed their performance in the competition, stating: “As an audience member what Lawrence Chaney has is a fully formed character. It is performance, but it comes from somewhere. It is really who that person is. A bit of pain, a bit of grit, doesn’t take herself that seriously and yet takes this seriously.”
A prominent fixture of the Glasgow drag scene, Chaney has been vocal about the importance of representing the Scottish drag scene and of fairer pay for local performers, as seen in a recent interview with PinkNews.
When asked why they thought they should win during the finale, Chaney stated: “I started drag in Scotland and I was never the best dancer or the best lip-syncer but what I started with was making connections, making people laugh and being that escapism for people. I want to offer my drag as escapism to all those people. I want to show that no matter how bullied you are, and how weird you look, you can do anything. I want to show the UK and the world everything I have to offer because I really think I can make a difference.”
The finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season two aired on Thursday 18 March at 7pm on BBC Three and was produced by World of Wonder. Both seasons of the show are currently available to stream in full on BBC iPlayer.
