RuPaul drag queen hails inspiration of Northern women

Banksie has had a drag alter-ego since they were aged 15

A competitor on RuPaul's Drag Race has told how they took their inspiration for the show from the "cheekiness and humour" of Northern women.

Banksie has had a drag alter-ego since they were aged 15 and growing up in the town of Wigan, Greater Manchester.

They explained how their early years around Manchester influenced their image, adding: “The cheekiness of being a Northerner - that’s what I love."

The 24-year-old said watching videos of local drag queens first inspired them to move to the city and start their colourful career.

RuPaul’s Drag Race is a costume-laden chaotic contest that pits drag stars from across the country against each other, under the watchful eye of drag legend RuPaul.

Banksie featured in this year's series but was knocked out in a "lip-sync for your life" battle in episode five.

Asked what inspired them, they said: “That Northern woman who works in the chippy who puts your extra scraps on because she knows who you are.

"In drag, you take little bits of humour you pick up over the years and use it, and for me it’s that dry, Northern humour."

Banksie won a challenge for creating this dazzling look

Banksie said the northern queens on this year's series worked well together “because it was all the same sense of humour, based on Cilla Black, Victoria Wood and Lily Savage”.

At 18, Banksie moved to Manchester to study filmmaking at Manchester Metropolitan University.

But the star said their main priority was always doing drag and university was simply “the best way of funding it”.

They started out performing at dance clubs in the city's Northern Quarter before making further friends and contacts on Canal Street in the Gay Village.

RuPaul's Drag Race sees a range of costume-laden queens competing for kudos

Many contestants started their careers on Canal Street including series winner Danny Beard, from Liverpool.

Banksie has continued to make appearances on the vibrant party street as their RuPaul adventure played out.

They said “I’ve always felt supported in Manchester” and how it felt lovely to hear about what people liked and connected to on the show.

'The sisterhood'

Banksie continued: “I loved every minute of it.

"I’ve always wanted to do it since I was like 15, so it really was a dream come true to be there."

However, they admitted not being too handy with a needle and thread so said they had to "think smarter not harder" when it came to the show's fashion challenges.

And despite having a few arguments with the other queens throughout the competition, they described it as “a sisterhood” in the end.

“I’ve got a biological sister and we fight like cat and dog," they said.

"I don’t mean we don’t love each other. We fight and we make up. Same thing with the drag sisterhood".