Zahirah Zapanta was a Manchester standout this season on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, and from her runway to that final lip sync, she was, as she would put it, “that girl”! After getting to compete through a number of fan (and competitor) favorite Drag Race challenges, Zapata’s vision is aimed squarely at the future. I sat down to dish with Zahirah on her RuPaul’s Drag Race UK journey, what it was like to see a cash prize in the mix on this season of Drag Race UK, and what drives her ongoing passion for the Manchester drag scene
Michael Cook: That final lip sync you performed on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is already going down in herstory. Manchester vs Manchester was absolutely spectacular!
Z: It was crazy getting to lip sync against my Manchester sister, but I love her. Lill is so so talented! We all have bad days, and unfortunately it was mine and hers that episode. It does not take away from the fact of how amazing we both are as performers; so we celebrate that!
MC: You mentioned your pride for your Manchester community on the show. What is the Manchester drag scene like?
Z: It is so incredible and I give so much love to all of my Manchester sisters back home. There is a real sense of community back there, but also everyone is really talented. It is so eclectic, there are so many different types of queens back in Manchester. From bio queens to beauty queens to performers and old school to very edgy queens. We all at some point, are going to work together. It is a big city in the UK but in terms of the drag scene, you go to a brunch there and you head up to the gig at night and you definitely cross everyone. There is a lot of talent so hopefully we will get to see more of that in seasons to come!
MC: Tell me about your RuPaul’s Drag Race UK experience. It seemed like right from the start you gelled instantly with most of the cast wonderfully.
Z: Absolutely. I think it was honestly so magical to share this experience with the girls. I got to bond with so many of them that it honestly does not feel like I am “early out” per se because of how connected I am was to the girls. I got to do cabaret, sewing, acting, girl groups, these are very staple Drag Race challenges. To be a part of that was such an amazing opportunity.
I think that it is such a strong cast as well. When we were filming we just kept looking at each other wondering who’s going to go home this week? It’s just how the cookie crumbles and as Mama Ru says “May the best drag queen win”!
MC: Drag Race UK consistently has such strong and diverse performers as part of the cast. Do you think that’s a reflection of the UK scene as a whole?
K: Yes absolutely, you can see that with a lot of the girls this season. We all wanted to go into this competition to win, especially with it being the first season to have a cast prize; it upped the stakes so much more. It really felt like a proper fight to the end!
MC: What did it feel like to finally see that a cash prize was in the mix for the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK?
K: It was amazing ,we were shook! We auditioned for the show not knowing that there was going to be a cash prize. What does that mean?-it means that that the contestants that are on this season had such pure love for the art of drag that it didn’t matter at that point not knowing that we were going to get a cash prize. It didn’t matter if we got it or not because the love that we have for drag is so immense in the UK. It’s like “Let’s just do it for the badges” but you know what, what a treat! I think it’s also great for the fans too!
MC: You mentioned getting to do so many of the trademark challenges from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. What challenges do you think you did not get to do that you would have loved to have done?
K: I think for me I would have loved to have done Snatch Game. It is one of the hardest challenges to do, but I wanted to be the first Asian UK queen to do well in the Snatch Game. A lot of them have gone home on the Snatch Game challenge. Sum Ting (Wong) did, River (Medway) went home on Snatch Game, Le Fil went home on Snatch Game. I was like “Let me or Saki (Yew) be one of the girls that gets to Snatch Game and just smashes it”! I was ready to smash Snatch Game and I wanted to do the makeover. I am a makeup artist, a hairstylist and I have a wig company so I would have loved to have do the makeover!
MC: When did you know that drag was going to be more than just a hobby and the passion that you would be following?
K: I started cross dressing online on YouTube with tutorials of Katya, Trixie and Tatianna; the girls! People were watching and it was like “Okay cool”! started going out in drag in the Manchester scene and then venues just started booking me! it was so incredible, I just started to blossom I guess! The love for it grew and grew and I think even moreso coming out of the show and keeping those critiques as well, I wanted to elevate and grow the brand of Zahirah itself, but also of my drag. We filmed this almost a year ago so you learn so much and now watching it back it’s like “Okay this is what I would have done”. But I guess we all do that right?
MC: What’s next for you post Drag Race UK?
K: Well we’ve got out new song by Dracula’s Child “Dead or Alive” available now on all streaming platforms. We may be announcing a tour very soon and that is going to be iconic. In terms of my dreams and in my fantasy, I want to be a covergirl. I want to look back in years to come and think that I want this article on that cover, it is very muggy up in here! I really like hosting, I recently got to do a hosting stint on Strictly Come Dancing, which is our Dancing With the Stars here in the UK. It was such a fun experience and I felt like I came across really well; so maybe some more tv gigs, I don’t know…
MC: What do you think you learned from your RuPaul’s Drag Race UK experience that you will be taking with you to the next phase of your career?
ZH: I think I learned that I am really fierce; I am so fierce it hurts. You come into the competition at a ten, you get knocked down a peg, and you have to remind yourself of how amazing you are. These critiques that were given to me were the fuel for me to be the queen who I am today. I am so excited to see my drag grow even more. There could be some queens that could take these critiques and be offended and think “They don’t see my drag”. I just used it as a fuel and I am still using it as a fuel to say “You can do better Zahirah, and you will be better. Just remember you are fierce and you are that girl”!
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