Drag queen Charra Tea is hoping to make Northern Ireland proud during her first appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK tonight.
Charra Tea, AKA James Martin, is a drag queen from Belfast and is one of 12 contestants competing in the UK edition of the show.
The competition returns to television screens tonight with a host of celebrity judges including Graham Norton, Michelle Visage and various others.
Charra Tea is taking part in the sixth series of the show and is both excited and nervous for the premiere.
In a social media post on Instagram ahead of the show airing, she said. “This entire process has been incredible and I am so excited (and terrified) for you all to see what we’ve been up to.”
The first contestant from Northern Ireland on RuPaul’s Drag race UK was top drag queen Blu Hydrangea, who placed fifth back in the UK debut of the show.
Blu has competed in the show several times and went on to win a spin-off of the show RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World.
James Martin’s first interest in drag began when taking part in a school play for the performance of Hairspray.
“I used to volunteer in a charity shop in Belfast on Botanic Avenue, and I loved seeing all these fabulous clothes, dresses, and costumes that come in,” Charra told the BBC.
“I was always so jealous that I wasn’t able to wear them, and then one day I thought, you know what, I’m going to start drag and I’m going to buy these dresses so I can wear them.
“I am here to represent the tacky and the colourful out there, and no one else is going to want to wear primary colours, so it makes me stand out.”
The BBC Three programme is made up of 12 drag queens who compete against each other in several games and challenges ranging from dress design, dancing, singing, acting and more.
RuPaul calls the shots as host of the show and is known for being the creator of the original series based in America which first aired in 2009.
A fan-favourite game on the show is called the ‘Snatch Game’ where the contestants must get on stage and give celebrity impressions in a spoof game show inspired by Blankety Blank.
The contest runs for 10 weeks and the bottom two contestants each episode must “lip-sync for their lives” before one is eliminated from the competition.
Charra is the third contestant from Northern Ireland to be on the show and thanked all of those who supported her along the way.
“A massive thank you to everyone who has helped me along my drag journey,” she said.
“I genuinely couldn’t have done it without my friends, my family, my boyfriend and all of my queer family. And this is just the beginning.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK will be available on BBC iPlayer.