RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race: Cast, release date, guest judges and all the latest news

23 April 2020, 11:32

Official Trailer - RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race - VH1

Sophie Thompson

By Sophie Thompson

RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race is a four-part special set to air following the main season 12 episodes, starting Friday 24th April, where celebrities will be dragged up by former contestants and hit the runway to win a charity prize.

RuPaul's Drag Race is having a moment. We're well into season 12 of the drag competition and with a season of the UK version under its belt, and All Stars 5 pending, it was only natural that there was one more star-studded spin-off to add to the broad: Celebrity Drag Race.

Announced with a preview trailer following the main episode of season 12 on Friday, RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race will be a four-part special commencing 24th April, which sees celebrities that have never before done drag, be transformed by the shows alumni and take to the runway, in a bid to win a cash prize for charity. We're already sold.

READ MORE: QUIZ: Who would your Snatch Game character be on Drag Race?

An unconfirmed list of celebrities has leaked on the internet and we are absolutely gagging at who's on the list.

RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race starts on 24th April for four weeks.
RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race starts on 24th April for four weeks. Picture: VH1

Familiar faces responsible for the transformations (including drag queens and kings alike, something not done on the main show), are Alyssa Edwards, Asia O'Hara, Bob the Drag Queen, Kim Chi, Monique Heart, Nina West, Monét X Change, Trinity the Tuck, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo and Trixie Mattel - although it's thought only a few of them will be on each episode.

Here are the unconfirmed celebrities and the queens they will be matched with.

Episode 1: Nico Tortorella (Monet) Jordan Connor (Trixie) Jermaine Fowler (Bob)

Episode 2: Alex Newell (Bob) Dustin Milligan (Nina We) Matt Iseman (Kim Chi)

Episode 3: Phoebe Robinson (Alyssa) Madison Beer (Monique) Hayley Kiyoko (Vanjie)

Episode 4: Loni Love (Trinity) Tami Roman (Alyssa) Vanessa Williams (Asia)

Excited?

Start your engines, because here's everything you need to know about the latest addition to the RPDR family...

Where can I watch RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race?

RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race will be starting on Friday 24th April at 8:30pm CST straight after the main weekly episode of season 12, over on VH1. It'll run for four weeks.

If you're in the UK, that's 2:30am BST, but there's no word whether it'll be on Netflix yet. *Loads up dodgy stream*

What celebrities are on RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race?

While the show has kept pretty tight-lipped about who we can expect to see getting a drag makeover, fans are already making educated guesses based just on the mini trailer that's been released.

Names previously thrown into the ring before the 'leak' included comedian Margaret Cho, actor Jerry O'Connell and wife Rebecca Romjin, who are both good friends of RuPaul, and the gender-role-slaying king of music, Harry Styles.

There's even been hints that Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino could be signed up, on the basis that he will literally take any reality gig right now, and there was a mere glimpse of a tank top. Fair enough.

Names mentioned in the leak included: Nico Tortorella, Jordan Connor, Jermaine Fowler, Alex Newell, Dustin Milligan, Matt Iseman, Phoebe Robinson, Madison Beer, Hayley Kiyoko, Loni Love, Tami Roman and Vanessa Williams.

Official Trailer - RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race - VH1

Who are the judges on Celebrity Drag Race?

As far as we're aware, the usual lineup of RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley and Ross Matthews still stands, but instead of joining them on the panel, the celebrities will this time be on the stage.

Former Drag Race winners (and robbed contestants alike) will be responsible for the makeovers, including Alyssa Edwards, Asia O'Hara, Bob the Drag Queen, Kim Chi, Monique Heart, Nina West, Monét X Change, Trinity the Tuck, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo and Trixie Mattel.

What is the prize on RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race?

As with most celebrity versions of TV shows, it's for charity. And while there's no exact figure on how much the winner will receive for their chosen cause, it's likely that it'll be in the region of $100,000 to match the usual format. Not too shabby.

We can't wait to see how this turns out.

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