just very sort of flamboyant and camp, and i think really profoundly important artists. and so, having that, i always wanted drag race to be here in the uk. and i tell you no lie, i went to every network repeatedly until they were like, please, don t come round here trying to sell that show again . so, it did take a long time? oh, yes. everyone said no many, many times. and. over how many years? over about six years. and as we started collecting emmys and awards, i would say, now look at the show. what about this, what about that? yeah, but. , you know? but i always, i always believed, and i know michelle visage who s co host with ru she always believed in the show too because, you know, there s nothing. there s nothing so great as british drag. is it something about britain that we have this tradition of pantomime that means we respond to it in a different way from the americans? we do.
but towards the end of his life, he made a tv show. and i didn t realise this for a long time, but he started off as a public access show. no one would commission his show, so he did it on public access. and then, lucky for him, mtv launched and then mtv bought the show. but he started out on public access. and then, very sadly, he died, so he never really realised his tv dreams. because he would have loved big brother, you know? he would have loved drag race. he would have been a greatjudge. you know, i think the factory, in many ways, was like a preliminary cast of rupaul s drag race. so, you know, he gathered around him gay people and trans people and misfits, and all the sort of flotsam and jetsam, they hung out at the factory. and i think the factory very much was a kind of early version of big brother. so he would have just loved
that drag just wasn t on tv before then. i believe drag queens are the future, in the sense that they re like pop stars in the 70s. you know, i grew up watching top of the pops, and ifeel that today s drag queens are very much like the gods of glitter rock in the 70s. and i think there s room for. well, it s good to see that they re on tv, and also having hit records, and in plays and in movies, and i would like to see a drag race in every country. do you feel you have brought about cultural change, change to society, through that programme? i think the queens have brought about great cultural change, because they have shown that you can be yourself, you can be. you can create this image of yourself and you can do great things, you can inspire other people.
some extent, has been the fact that drug just wasn t on tv before then. i believe drag queen s are the future, in the sense that they are like pop stars in the 1970s. i grew up like pop stars in the 1970s. i grew up watching top of the pops. i feel that today s drag queen s are very much like the gods of glitter rock in the 70s. and i think there is room, well, it is good to see they are on tv and also having hit records and in plays and in movies, and i would like to see a drag race in every country. d0 and i would like to see a drag race in every country- in every country. do you feel you have brought in every country. do you feel you have brought about in every country. do you feel you have brought about cultural- in every country. do you feel you i have brought about cultural change to society through that programme? i think the greens have brought about great cultural change because they have shown that you can be yourself, you can be, you can create this image of yourself a
and you learn he moved to america. and ijust remember watching that and thinking, that is what i am going to do. not sure i am as flamboyant as quentin crisp. i mean, he was amazing and a genius. but i just felt that i would be able to be myself in the states. did you ever meet him? i did, several times, actually. he was fabulous, he would always make pronouncements. he said, if at first, you don t succeed, failure may be your style. that s very good! failure may be your style. that s very good! very failure may be your style. that s very good! very good, failure may be your style. that s very good! very good, right? i l very good! very good, right? i wonder as we wrap up, what is next for you? are there places you would like to take drag race or do you think there is a chance it could be reaching saturation point? ida. reaching saturation point? no, because i reaching saturation point? no, because i think, reaching saturation point? iirr, because i think, look, ithink reachi