Drag Race UK’s Lill on accidentally ‘squashing Shaznay Lewis behind a toilet door’ at the Attitude Awards
Exclusive: In this hilarious interview, the eliminated queen also explains why a joke about Michelle Visage's "old crumpet" boobs didn't make the cut in the show's roast challenge and how she "couldn't breathe" in her lip sync outfit
By Dale Fox
Manchester queen Lill has become the latest contestant to leave RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series 6, after being eliminated following the show’s roast challenge.
The semi-final saw the remaining queens tasked with delivering reads in a circus-themed roast, dressed as clowns. Previous roast winners Ella Vaday and Michael Marouli were brought in to coach the five ahead of the challenge.
While La Voix, Marmalade, and Kyran impressed the judges with their wit and vinyl-inspired runway looks, Lill and Rileasa’s routines fell flat, leading to an ultra-camp lip sync for survival. Lill worked the stage in a latex gimp suit with a Marilyn Monroe twist (see – we did say ‘ultra-camp’) but was ultimately given the chop.
In this outrageous exclusive chat with Attitude, Lill explains about why a joke about Michelle Visage’s “old crumpet boobs” didn’t make the cut, why her mum has had a Drag Race tattoo, and why a bout of digestive troubles led to her accidentally trapping an All Saints icon behind a toilet door at the 2024 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar.
How does it feel to be out now?
Feels good. Feels fine. Loving it. I wasn’t really arsed about winning, to be honest. As long as I got to go have fun and show me outfits off – and I did it, so job done.
What was your proudest moment on the show?
The runways. I just loved coming up with all the looks in such a short space of time. It’s a lot to do in a month. I feel like I really did myself proud with the looks. I love them.
You lip synced in a latex gimp suit. Did you have the option to slip into something more comfortable?
That option isn’t really there, but honestly, it shouldn’t be. Part of the magic of Drag Race is seeing queens lip sync in insane outfits. It’d lose some of the magic if we didn’t get to see that. So I’m glad, even though it was really uncomfortable and I thought I was going to die, I’m really glad I was in that daft outfit.
Would it have gone differently in a less restrictive outfit?
I definitely would’ve been able to bring more to the lip sync. It was boiling hot under everything, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t hear because the mask was over my ears. I had a collar around my neck that I couldn’t whip off if I needed to. It was like being suffocated; it was horrible. And I had new shoes on, which I hadn’t tested out. But in the end, it was about giving it everything and having fun.
What was your most cringe-worthy moment watching the show back?
The girl group choreography. Just looking at me trying to do that choreo, it were just daft, weren’t it? I thought I could just blag it but it turns out you can’t blag things like that.
Geri Halliwell made a career out of it though!
I know, and I wanna kick myself for not going for Geri, because the whole point of that character was that she was a bit rubbish. I even brought a Geri Halliwell wig with me. I had a ginger wig, that was much nicer than Actavia’s, may I add! But I thought with the choreo, it’s safer to do Cilla Black.
You were amazing as our Cilla – had you done her before Drag Race?
No; I’d never done Cilla before. It actually came out really well. I was surprised, to be honest.
Do you plan to make Cilla part of your act now, like Jimbo’s Shirley Temple?
Probs not, to be honest. I think we’ll leave Cilla where she needs to be, resting in her grave.
Did you know your mum was going to be part of the makeover challenge?
No – that’s why I was so exhausted on that episode because I had to make the outfit. I thought it was going to be me mate Joe, and we’d already come up with this plan. He’s got a massive ginger beard and I was going to ask if he’d shave it off, then at first he’d say no, then he’d say, “But I love you so much, so I’ll do this for you.” Then me mum walked in, and I’m like, “What are you doing here?”
What was it like making that fabulous drag look for your mum?
I had the corset already, so my plan was to take loads of rhinestones and just embellish it all, but my mum’s got massive boobs, so it kept me up all night decorating this bra. It was a lot of pressure because I just wanted my mum to feel dead fab. My mum said it’s one of the best things that she’s ever done, and she had a tattoo of her drag name afterwards, which says it all.
You became known as the lip sync assassin – did you expect to be in the bottom so many times?
No, I didn’t. When I first got there, I was like, “This is gonna be great; I’m gonna win it.” I so thought I was gonna win everything. Not to be cocky, and I was along for the ride. I thought, “If I do rubbish, then whatever – let’s just have a laugh.” I didn’t think I’d be in the bottom all the time, but I wasn’t bothered, because I had fun lip syncing.
Were there any funny parts of the roast challenge that we didn’t see?
I did make a joke about Michelle’s boobs being like a couple of old crumpets – that didn’t make it to the edit! Don’t know why. I felt weird with the roast, because it’s not a back-and-forth. I’d like to be able to roast them and they roast me back. Like, if I would’ve said to Michelle, “You’ve got a pair of books like a couple of old crumpets” and she said back, “Well, you’re a fat slag; I’m not bothered,” that’s more my vibe.
Who’s your favourite to win?
It’s anyone’s game because they’re all so different. La Voix is hilarious; Kyran is fresh and new; Rileasa is so talented; Marmalade’s got the looks and costumes down. I love Rileasa – I just love her. I think Rileasa’s actually my favourite out of all of them, but La Voix probably deserves it most.
What’s next for you?
There’s the Season 6 Takeover Tour in December with Rileasa and Kyran – nine dates across the UK. Danny Beard’s Christmas Cabaret at the Clapham Grand is also coming up. Beyond that, it’s about selling merch, clothes, and art prints on me website, lillworld.com and seeing what happens.
One last thing – you came to the Attitude Awards this year but disappeared after the red carpet. Where did you go?
Oh God – I had the shits really bad! And I accidentally squashed Shaznay Lewis from All Saints with the toilet door. I ran in and squashed some poor woman behind the door, then I pulled the door back and realised it was Shaznay. I was like, “Oh my god – I just squashed an All Saint!”
The RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series 6 finale will air on Thursday 28 November on BBC Three and the BBC iPlayer from 9pm.