Drag Race UK vs The World’s Lemon and Jimbo spill the tea on the show’s producers

Words: Alastair James; pictures: BBC

We all know that reality TV can be very produced, and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World is no exception.

The often heavy hand of producers can be felt in some of the queens’ werkroom chats, and we’ve had some fresh juice on the topic delivered to us by Canadian queens Lemon and Jimbo.

Speaking at a live stream event at Roscoe’s Tavern in Chicago on Wednesday 2 February, which has been shared online, the two queens from the first series of Canada’s Drag Race shared what went down in one moment as the queens were untucking.

“I’m going to spill the tea”

The first episode of the new Drag Race saw Lemon sashay away after Pangina Heals, the top queen of the week, beat Jimbo in a lip-sync for the world and voted to give her the boot over Janey Jacké from Drag Race Holland.

Prior to the lip-sync, as the top queens decided who they’d be voting to go home, Lemon and Jimbo sat down to chat about why the zesty queen should stay over Janey.

At the event on Wednesday, after the show had aired, Lemon told the audience: “I’m going to spill the tea. So, what really had happened. So I sat down with Jimbo in our girly little meeting and she was like, ‘There’s no way I wouldn’t keep you sis. Your number was amazing. You’re perfect. Don’t even worry. You’ve got this.'”

Jimbo and Lemon on their lipstick deliberation talk 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/69T1z1jeFa

— 🦝topher🦝 (@TopherHarrison_) February 2, 2022

Jimbo confirmed this before Lemon continued: “Then the producer walked in and she was like, ‘So maybe a little more mystery…’. And then Jimbo goes, ‘You know, I’d love to say that I could keep you but I can’t say that.'”

Jimbo adds: “I know! I did. I was like, ‘Oh you want me to act? Okay sure’. Because first I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m sending you home. I love you so much.’ And then they were like, ‘Mmmmm?’

“And I was like, ‘I’m not so sure. Just ’cause you’re my little sister doesn’t mean I’m just gonna vote for you.’ I was being an actor.”

“She was giving TV,” says Lemon.

Lemon spoke to Attitude and Tia Kofi earlier this week for Tea Time, in association with TAIMI. Check it out below:

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World is on BBC Three and the BBC iPlayer every Tuesday from 9 pm.

The Attitude February issue is out now. Get your copy here.