Drag Race UK’s Anubis on ‘iconic’ early elimination and who’s trade of the season

Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: BBC/World of Wonder/Guy Levy

Anubis has broken her silence after being eliminated first on the new series of Drag Race UK.

The star, who is the second queen from Brighton to exit the show first after Joe Black in the last series, joined Attitude and Tia Kofi to explain just what she’s up to next on Tea Time in association with TAIMI, the LGBTQ Dating, Chat and Social Network App.

Drag Race UK series three kicked off on BBC iPlayer last night, with regular judges RuPaul, Michelle Visage, and Graham Norton joined by Little Britain‘s Matt Lucas.

(Watch the full, unfiltered interview with Anubis above)

The 19-year-old – who describes her drag as “camp, over the top and silly” – said of her early elimination: “Part of me is like, that’s quite gutting, and part of me thinks, that’s quite iconic.

“It’s annoying I didn’t get to showcase my songwriting, or my vocals, or my comedy this time around. But I’m very, very happy with what I did show. I’m very proud of myself and happy I’m representing Brighton, specifically. It’s an elite club babe, I’m quite proud!”

Of feeling unable to find her voice, and of her runway look dedicated to her late father, Anubis said: “It was a mixture of things. Obviously, it’s very daunting, especially walking in and meeting Ru for the first time. It all just happens at once, doesn’t it? It is a whirlwind of emotions. Potentially, yeah it could have been the pressure. But also I could’ve been a bit choked up about the memory of my dad with the gown they were critiquing. But also the nerves of having to lip-sync.”

“I’m happy I’m representing Brighton, specifically. It’s an elite club”

The star also discussed her Egyptian heritage, saying: “For me, my heritage has always been something I want to showcase, particularly through my art. So when I got the call for the show, I knew this was something I really wanted to hammer home on.

“I wanted a lot of my runways, when I was initially sketching my ideas, to be centered around my heritage and around my Egyptian ethnicity. My entrance look obviously was a deeply structured idea of the Egyptian flag.”

On who’s trade of the season, Anubis told Tia: “Do you know what, I do fancy kind of everyone, but that’s just because I’m a raging slag! My top picks are Ella Vaday – obviously a gorgeous human – and I do love a bit of Scarlett Harlett! She’s also very lovely.”

Asked to pick which queen she’d like to have a romance with, however, Anubis picked Victoria Scone. “I’m just in love with her. Everything about her I’m obsessed with. She’s one of the best performers I’ve ever known and such an amazing friend.”

Subscribe to Attitude on YouTube now to ensure you don’t miss your weekly dose of Tea Time in association with TAIMI.

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK continues Thursday nights from 7pm on BBC Three in the UK.