ITV's new one-off spectacular Queens For The Night shows six celebrities as you've never seen them before: as glamorous drag queens!
Each star contestant will be mentored by a professional drag queen to rehearse a routine for the show, incorporating a special talent such as magic, stand-up comedy, impressions or singing. They will then get fully frocked up to perform their act in front of a live studio audience and a panel of judges — and one of the stars will be declared winner of Queens For The Night.
Here's everything we know about the special...
When is Queens For The Night on?
Queens For The Night is confirmed to air on ITV on Saturday, November 5 2022 at 8.30pm.
Who are the celebrity contestants on Queens For The Night?
The six celebrities taking part in Queens For The Night are:
- Simon Gregson, Coronation Street star
- George Shelley, Union J member and I'm A Celebrity runner-up
- Mr Motivator, fitness guru
- Chris Hughes, Love Island star and TV presenter
- Joe Marler, England rugby star
- Adam Woodyatt, actor and EastEnders legend
Who is the host of Queens For The Night?
The show will be hosted by drag superfan Lorraine Kelly. "I'm so excited to be hosting this show," says Lorraine. "I am a huge fan of drag, and cannot wait to see a host of stars embrace this uniquely wonderful and uplifting skill. It's a show that will have humour, warmth, and above all lots and lots of glamour."
Who are the judges on Queens For The Night?
The judging panel for Queens For The Night consists of comedian Rob Beckett, who had his own experience of performing in drag in an episode of Rob and Romesh vs, Spice Girl Melanie C, actor Layton Williams — who played the lead role in the West End musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie — and international drag icon and Celebrity Big Brother winner Courtney Act.
Who are the drag mentors on Queens For The Night?
The professional drag queens tasked with transforming the celebrities into drag divas are:
- Myra DuBois, mentoring Simon Gregson
- La Voix, mentoring George Shelley
- Asttina Mandella, mentoring Mr Motivator
- Margo Marshall, mentoring Chris Hughes
- Blu Hydrangea, mentoring Joe Marler
- Kitty Scott-Claus, mentoring Adam Woodyatt
Simon Gregson interview
Can you tell us a bit about your drag character?
She's based on a Cheshire WAG, and she's a bit gobby. She thinks rather a lot about herself — she believes that she's right up there with Posh Spice, even though she's very much down here! Her name is Bidet Bardot — we came up with quite a few names, but most of the stuff we came up with was really not appropriate!
Was this your first experience of drag? Have you ever dabbled before?
Erm, well, I'm not going to lie — I have put on women's clothes quite a few times! I have to say, alcohol was involved. But yeah, not in a professional capacity, in a being silly capacity. My first professional outing as a drag artist was for this show!
What was the toughest part of the process of becoming a drag queen?
The hardest part was the wig — it was horrendous! Because you put it into your hair, of which I don't have much left anyway, and they kind of whack it in, and before they put the wig on they have this rubber band that goes around, and pins that go in, and this has to be really really tight, so the pressure headache was like being hit with a hammer on me head!
I had to have the wig taken off two or three times. They were all panicking, saying "we're about to go live!", and I was like "I won't be able to do it", because the pain was that much, I felt sick. So that was the hardest bit, the wig. Everything else was a walk in the park, no worries — even the heels were comfy, which was a shock!
How did you get around your wig woes in the end?
They're just a great team — they went "right!", everyone got on it and took it off, used less pins and whacked it back on. It was still highly uncomfortable, but not as bad! I think what had happened was, because I had been messing around with it, one of the bobby pins had got in between and was literally being forced into my skull!
You and Adam did I'm A Celebrity together — was it nice to have a friend there?
It was lovely to see Adam! He actually burst in on one of our rehearsals, mine and Myra's, because he was just around the corner. Of course, he was in his heels and his make-up and everything! He's a good friend of mine, and it was nice to have a pal on there, because regardless of how long you've been doing this for, new ventures are always a bit nervous!
What was it like working with your drag mentor?
Gareth was my mentor, his character is Myra DuBois, he's a comedian and drag artist, and he was on Britain's Got Talent [in 2020] and did really well. When they told me I would be doing stand-up comedy, I could not have been more pleased and more frightened at the same time! Stand-up comedy is something I've always wanted to do, I've got friends who are stand-up comedians, but I know how difficult it is. I was worried about that, I think it takes a long time to master — and of course, you've got to be funny in the first place!
Could you be tempted back into drag now that you've done it? Maybe in panto?
Me and Gareth have spoken about getting together, putting an act together and doing a little charity gig in some of the comedy stores that he does. That'd be fun! Panto? Probably. It'd be nice — but when has anyone in Corrie got time to do panto?!
