Drag Race UK’s Scarlett Harlett felt ‘so alone’ after Untucked drama

Words: Alastair James; pictures: BBC

Drag Race UK’s Scarlett Harlett says she felt “so alone” after she was named by the majority of the queens as the one who should go home next at the end of week five in the competition. 

Following the Drag-lexa challenge, where no one was named as the top of the week RuPaul asked the queens who should be the one to go home with most saying it should be Scarlett.

Reflecting on the subsequent drama with Attitude and Tia Kofi for Tea Time, in association with TAIMI, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ social and dating app, Scarlett also says she doesn’t recognise the person she saw on TV.

In the week after, Scarlett took the opportunity of the reading challenge to fire back at those who’d said she should go in a display she now describes as “embarrassing.”

“In the moment of filming it, your feelings are so intense it can cloud your judgement almost. I remember the previous episode with the fallout from Untucked, I remember coming out of that and feeling so alone in the room […] I didn’t want the girls to see me sweat basically. It’s the worst thing that can happen in a competition.”

Scarlett explains that the nature of the TV show format meant she was unable to remove herself from the situation as she’d have liked to, which led to some uncomfortable viewing for her.

“It’s hard to watch that because I can see what I’m thinking in my head, and it hurts me a little bit to see it come out that way because I know it’s a silly defence mechanism to try not show any weaknesses to the girls and to try and feel like my position was validated.”

Scarlett was eliminated this week in an iconic lip sync against Vanity Milan to Mis-teeq’s ‘Scandalous’ (“the banger of all bangers,” according to Scarlett) following the Fugly runway challenge.

She says she was happy to lose to Vanity because “the second I knew that I was lip-syncing with that song and Vanity next to me I was, like, book closed, I’m going home. So, I just had a good time.”

Asked about her Snatch game take on McCauley Culkin Scarlett reveals there was a joke about Michael Jackson that was edited out of the show adding, ” I won’t say what I said because it was a bit crude.”

On what’s next for the East-London queen Scarlett says she’s hoping to get a call from the producers of Eastenders hoping her Bianca inspired look on the runway will land her a role in the long-runninhg soap opera. 

“I’m ready to be Bianca’s chavvy little brother or sister, it’s [Drag Race UK] a launchpad after all.”

The Attitude December issue is out now.

Subscribe in print and get your first three issues for just £1 each, or digitally for just over £1.50 per issue.