RuPaul’s Drag Race UK champion Lawrence Chaney has admitted she was left ‘starstruck’ over Dawn French’s support while appearing on the show.
The contestant, 24, became the first-ever Scottish winner of the second series of the hit BBC Three show on Thursday night after going head-to-head for the crown against Bimini and Tayce.
Lawrence, who thought co-star Bimini would earn the crown, admitted she was ‘starstruck’ over the celebrity support she has received from the likes of Dawn and Jessie Ware, who both appeared as guest judges, as well as actor John Barrowman.
You’re a winner baby! RuPaul’s Drag Race UK champion Lawrence Chaney has admitted she was left ‘starstruck’ over Dawn French’s support while appearing on the show
Talking to MailOnline and other press after her win, the performer revealed: ‘Dawn French reached out to me, she said I was “lovely jubbly” and John Barrow reached out to me. Loads of the Ru girls from America. Michelle [Visage].’
She added: ‘I did not expect it in the slightest… but that’s a nice kind of surprise, to get a voice note from John Barrowman of him with a Scottish accent, that makes your day.’
Lawrence joked that she is usually left ‘starstruck’ by her own mother let alone the likes of Dawn, John and Jessie.
She quipped: ‘I’m starstruck by my mum! I was very starstruck by Dawn French, I was very starstruck by Jessie as well. She was a judge on the week I did the worst in the competition, Snatch Game week, when I was in the bottom.
Star-studded: The contestant, 24, became the first-ever Scottish winner of the second series of the hit BBC Three show on Thursday night (Dawn French, who was a guest judge on the show, pictured)
Co-stars: Lawrence went head-to-head for the crown against Tayce and Bimini (L-R) and admitted that she thought Bimini, right, would win the show
‘You would have thought: “Oh God, this person is going to think I’m terrible, hide!” But Jessie Ware messaged me after the episode and said: “You are a superstar, regardless of placement in the show.”
‘I was like: “You’re too kind, I was s***e!” and she was like: “Oh no, I can see a star when I spot one.” I just couldn’t believe that someone subjectively, at my worst in the competition, someone was still like: “Ohhhh!”‘
Reflecting on the moment, Lawrence added: ‘That was really emotional to me. It felt like reassurance on quite a vulnerable week.’
Elsewhere the contestant spoke about their win and what it means to be the first Scottish champion of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.
Support! Lawrence admitted she was ‘star-struck’ over the celebrity support she has received from the likes of actor John Barrowman, pictured, who even sent him a voice note
Lovely: Guest judge Jessie Ware, pictured, also gave Lawrence support, she said: ‘That was really emotional to me. It felt like reassurance on quite a vulnerable week.’
Lawrence admitted: ‘I didn’t think I was going to win, I thought Bimini was going to win it. I thought I was going to get eliminated on every episode… so maybe that’s a self confidence issue there!’
The star said it ‘means so much’ not only for herself but for Scotland as the drag scene currently pays queens just £15-a-gig.
Lawrence said: ‘It means so much to me because Scotland drag scene community is very underrated, not even on the Drag Race side of things.
‘It’s quite an underground scene still, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow… we all have the same amount of followers. I think it speaks broader about things, there’s not many Scottish people on TV or represented on media.’
First-ever Scottish winner! Elsewhere the contestant spoke about their win and what it means to be the first Scottish champion of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK
Lawrence added: ‘If you think about what people perceive as: “Oh Scottish person”, they immediately think of the Fat B*****d from Austin Powers, these parody type things, Mrs. Doubtfire as Robin Williams playing an old Scottish lady.’
Talking about their win further, she continued : ‘I think it speaks to Scottish culture genuinely as well, especially a drag queen.
‘We’re talking about a scene that pays queens, right now, £15 a gig. One of the people that got £15 a gig, has won RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.’
Lawrence noted that it was a ‘testament’ to the ‘great determination’ of Scottish queens, kings and performers.
The next Lorraine Kelly? Talking about what is up next, she joked that she wants to be the next ‘Lorraine Kelly’, pictured, and get into the more hosting sides of television
The winner also spoke about judge and show creator RuPaul’s ‘shine’ towards him, saying that the American star is ‘the best’ and treats the entire cast ‘amazingly’.
She said: ‘This is the thing, I didn’t know, when we were filming it, I didn’t know if they would keep in: “Lawrence Chaney” [Ru’s nickname]. I am telling you, you’re up on that runway, getting critique while RuPaul goes: “Lawrence Chaney”.
‘We would just laugh, what you were seeing on the show is nothing compared to what it was. It was really nice.’
Lawrence admitted that they used to get starstruck when they were younger but made sure Ru would remember them on the show.
Reality shows: Lawrence has also already been tipped by betting agents to appear on reality shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, but the winner joked she would never appear on Dancing On Ice after contestant Gemma Collins, pictured, ‘fell face first’ in 2019
The winner also admitted she was worried Ru would be ‘Hollywood business’ but that the judge was actually ‘the opposite’ of that.
As part of her win, Lawrence gets an all-expenses paid trip to Hollywood to create her own digital series with the producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Talking about what is up next, she joked that she wants to be the next ‘Lorraine Kelly’ and get into the more hosting sides of television.
Lawrence has also already been tipped by betting agents to appear on reality shows such as Strictly Come Dancing.
Talking about her future plans, and if they involve reality TV, the winner said: ‘I would literally love TV. I love reality TV, I love TV that makes you think, TV that makes you scared, TV that makes you laugh. I’m interested in a wide range of entertainment.
Final! The trio, as well as eliminated contestant Ellie Diamond, had to perform an all-singing and all-dancing version of RuPaul’s classic dance track A Little Bit Of Love. It saw all of the queens from the cast return on stage for the show
Lipsync! After they whittled the four finalists down to Lawrence, Bimini and Tayce, the trio had to lipsync to I’m Still Standing by Elton John
‘I would absolutely love to go on… as long as it’s not Dancing On Ice, cos I don’t dance and definitely not on ice. Can you imagine? If Gemma Collins fell face first on an ice rink… then imagine what would happen to me like that. It would be rough!
‘Probably not I’m A Celebrity, scared to eat things I don’t eat. If I was eating McDonald’s every day, fine, but crickets and stuff like that…
‘I want to be a regular face on TV. The interesting thing I’ve discovered about myself, I have the ability to be fun and also tell a genuine story. Everything I say isn’t a joke, there are layers to it… like an onion!’
Thursday’s final saw Lawrence, Bimini and Tayce get selected as the final three with the Scottish performer being crowned the winner.
Judges: The finalists then received critique from the judging panel made up of RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Graham Norton and Alan Carr
The trio, as well as eliminated contestant Ellie Diamond, had to perform an all-singing and all-dancing version of RuPaul’s classic dance track A Little Bit Of Love. It saw all of the queens from the cast return on stage for the show.
The finalists then received critique from the judging panel made up of RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Graham Norton and Alan Carr.
After they whittled the four finalists down to Lawrence, Bimini and Tayce, the trio had to lipsync to I’m Still Standing by Elton John.
After being crowned the winner, complete with a crown and sceptre, Lawrence said: ‘This is insane! It’s incredible. Scotland babes, I brought the crown home!’
Emotional: After being crowned the winner, complete with a crown and sceptre, Lawrence said: ‘This is insane! It’s incredible. Scotland babes, I brought the crown home!’