They were raised on Drag Race UK - but can they snatch the crown?

ByNaomi Clarke

BBC Newsbeat

A caller batch of queens from crossed the UK are acceptable to conflict it retired successful the anticipation of proceeding RuPaul's magical words: "Condragulations, you're a winner, baby".

The UK variation of Drag Race has been putting hopeful contestants done their paces for 7 years - plentifulness of clip for a caller question of endowment raised connected the deed world amusement to emerge.

Now "Generation Ru" are acceptable to vie for the crown and £25,000 currency prize.

Series 8 contestant Mocha, 26, tells BBC Newsbeat she considers herself portion of this caller cohort.

"My resistance has ever been inspired by Drag Race due to the fact that that's wherefore I started," the Essex-born queen says.

"I deliberation watching Drag Race made maine realise that each of these things that I grew up wanting to bash - similar beryllium a manner designer, beryllium a singer, similar beryllium a dancer, bash constitution - it's really each these things combined and I tin beryllium each of them astatine once."

Mocha, who describes herself arsenic a "fashion clown" and philharmonic theatre lover, says it has taken her astir a decennary to get to this signifier but feels it is the "right time".

And portion watching the amusement has influenced her benignant and fixed her a thing to enactment towards, she says the process isn't for those who conscionable privation to get connected TV.

"Drag is hard and you've got to emotion it, you've got to person a passionateness for it," she says.

"Drag Race is the extra-special prize you get astatine the end, but it's not the main extremity successful that way."

London-based queen and chap contestant Flesh agrees she is "100% Generation Ru".

"I recovered resistance done queens who had featured successful the American franchise," the 26-year-old says.

"And from the archetypal play of the UK franchise I was hooked, I was a fan.

"It has ever truly been my blueprint.“

She has besides developed her "supermodel of Soho" benignant alongside her champion person Bones, the reigning Drag Race UK Superstar.

Flesh says she was "so happy" for her resistance sister erstwhile she won, but it besides made her "terrified" to vie this twelvemonth arsenic she focused connected proving herself.

Almost 100 queens person lip-synced their mode done Drag Race UK's challenges, but determination are fans who interest whether the British country tin enactment much bid of the yearly show.

Series eight's youngest contestant, Naya Thorn, who was 23 erstwhile she was chosen for the show, feels determination are caller queens cropping up each implicit the UK.

But she admits the amusement would payment if much "seasoned and colourful characters" from crossed the country got involved.

However, she says, cost-of-living pressures are putting a strain connected queens trying to marque it.

Naya, from Dudley, West Midlands, says the disbursal of preparing for the amusement astir led her to drop-out, and she wouldn't person been TV-ready without her enactment web astatine home.

"It truly upsets maine that there's a batch of radical that would bash good connected the amusement and should person that level that consciousness similar they can't spell connected due to the fact that of however costly it seems to beryllium getting," she says.

"But I americium present to beryllium to everyone, you don't request that overmuch money."

Flesh, who has been moving a resistance amusement for the past 5 years, says she has besides seen turnout astatine unrecorded performances drop, and feels soaring costs person apt impacted that.

She thinks the TV amusement inactive appeals arsenic it provides "the joyousness and the powerfulness of resistance from the comfortableness of your ain home", but says this comes astatine a terms to performers.

"Expectations stay astatine a Drag Race level and our income and opportunities successful the existent satellite bash not bespeak that," she says.

The Soho-based queen besides says societal media has go a "double-edged sword".

Although it's captious to advertise unrecorded shows, "the much you show... the little inclined radical are to go", she says.

Flesh adds: "If the nationalist aren't consenting to enactment resistance extracurricular of the Drag Race vehicle" past "we won't beryllium capable to prolong Drag Race".

The queens this twelvemonth volition beryllium hoping to spark much involvement into the amusement and drag, including Paris Baby, who describes herself arsenic "UK's British Bajan Barbie".

She has been hailing the caller bid arsenic the "drag renaissance" arsenic she feels it was a "really strong" twelvemonth and hopes it volition beryllium "very good received" internationally.

"Hopefully we tin bring a small 'je ne sais quoi' and reignite the involvement successful drag," she says.

RuPaul's Drag Race UK bid 8 launches astatine 22:00 BST connected BBC Three and is disposable to ticker connected BBC iPlayer.