Halle-ru-iah! Thursday nights are back with a glitter-filled bang as award-winning RuPaul’s Drag Race UK returns to BBC iPlayer and BBC Three this Autumn on Thursday 3 September. This time the engines will be revving and available from 7pm on BBC iPlayer and 9pm on BBC Three and the season promises to serve appointment viewing and appointment judging.

The internationally runowned RuPaul, will be regaling the fandom with a dazzling array of celebrity guests as they swoon, critique and deliberate over the fate of a fresh batch of crown thirsty queens in their bid to become the UK’s Next Drag Race Superstar.

Resident Drag Race judges Alan Carr, Graham Norton, and Michelle Visage will return alongside a stellar list of guest judges aka Drag Race Superfans:

Thandiwe Newton

Thandiwe Newton brings Hollywood glamour to the judging panel and separates the sashays from the shantays. When asked what her drag queen name would be Thandiwe Newton said: “If I were…well let’s face it, I am a drag queen – my drag name would be Hannibal Trewartha, Hannibal was the name of my first pet, and Trewartha was the name of my first street and that apparently is your drag name”

Anne-Marie

The multi-platinum singer, songwriter Anne-Marie fulfils a lifelong ambition of serving judgement with elegance at Drag Race UK. When asked to describe her Drag Race UK experience, Anne-Marie said: “What a dream to be a part of Ru’s Drag Race. Surrounded by beautiful people all day! I loved it and I can’t wait to watch the whole season.”

Cat Burns

The singer-songwriter Cat Burns reunites with fellow traitor Alan Carr for a very different kind of judging. When asked what her drag name would be Cat said: “If I were on Drag Race UK my drag queen name would be Kitty Kat First Degree Burns.”

Kadiff Kirwan

The Slow Horses actor, Kadiff Kirwan swerves into the Drag Race lane for even more high stakes drama. When asked about his experience on Drag Race UK Kadiff Kirwan said: “Still floating and never want to come down from the queer fever dream that was being a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 8. It was everything one could want and more. RuPaul’s beauty, wicked humour and energy confirmed why SHE is the only queen I bow to.”

Michèle Lamy

Category is: fashion anarchist. Style icon Michèle Lamy arrives ready to celebrate queens who dare to be different. When asked what talent she would show off on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Michèle Lamy said: “I would dance with all my bracelets, and covered in powder all over, then I’d roll myself on the floor in front of RuPaul.”

Michelle de Swarte

Back by popular demand, comedian, actor, supermodel Michelle de Swarte returns to serve up her trademark unfiltered commentary with a hint of duplicitous charm. When asked what her drag queen name would be Michelle de Swarte said “My drag queen name would be Michelle de Barge.”

Rick Astley

He’s never gonna give up serving, Pop icon Rick Astley sashays onto the mainstage for some Rickroll mischief and camparaderie. When asked what his drag queen name would be Rick Astley said: “If I were a drag queen, my name would be Miss Rickety Splits.”

Erin O’Connor

Supermodel Erin O’Connor arrives with unrivalled fashion credentials and an eye for a killer runway. When asked what she loves about Drag Race UK Erin said: “What I love about Drag Race UK is the design challenge, I love to see all the queens getting stuck in and then putting their creations on a runway and bringing it all to life – it’s the moment!”

Layton Williams

The West End sensation, Layton Williams sashays on to the judging panel ready to turn the spotlight on to the queens. When asked what one of his favourite Drag Race UK moments is he said: “One of my favourite Drag Race UK moments was with La Voix and her dad. It’s a dynamic we don’t see enough on telly. Queen’s and their supportive dads… It was so heartwarming.”

Martin Fry

By ru-yal invitation from Mama Ru, eighties frontman Martin Fry sashays onto the Main Stage. When asked what he would excel in, in Drag Race UK he said: “I’d like to excel in singing, that’s my trade, but if you asked me to tap dance I would bomb, no tap dancing!”

The Drag Race fandom can also look forward to cheeky cameo appearances from: Heartthrob-ing actor, Arian Nik who stars in BBC’s Daddy Issues and The Split Up; popstar superstar from Blue – Duncan James; Supermodel and Drag Race darling, Kristen McMenamy; Musical theatre royalty, Mazz Murray; Dance Pop duo – Booty Luv and beloved queen-whipping choreographer Claudimar Neto!

With a highly ambitious new cast, the brand-new series promises to serve up one of Drag Race UK’s most spicy seasons in recent herstory.

These queens are hungry, and ready to eat, and may the best queen win!

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is a World of Wonder production for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer commissioned by Fiona Campbell, in her capacity as Controller, BBC iPlayer and Youth Audiences and Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC. The Executive Producers for World of Wonder are Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, RuPaul Charles, Bruce McCoy, Matt Green, and Johnni Javier and the BBC Commissioning Editor is Ruby Kuraishe.

SH3

Tadej Pogacar outsprinted Enric Mas to claim victory in stage six of the Vuelta a España on Thursday, his third stage win of the race.

The Slovenian and Mas outshone their rivals on the gravel in the stage’s final climb, and Pogacar held off the Spaniard when arriving in Castellón de la Plana to extend his general classification lead. The five-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, the overwhelming favourite for the Vuelta, is aiming to complete a Grand Tour grand slam.

Ramses Debruyne grabbed the third spot on the podium, finishing in a group including Primoz Roglic, Richard Carapaz and Felix Gall, 46 seconds behind the leaders. UAE Team Emirates’ Pogacar, who had a brief scare as he came off the road on the final descent, now leads Movistar’s Mas by 3min 34sec and his compatriot Roglic by 4min 21sec overall.

There was a big battle to get into the break but it took a long time for an escape to form. Finally 15 riders moved clear and established a two-and-a-half minute gap on the peloton with 40km remaining. The final climb of Puerto El Bartolo split up the break and then peeled on to a gravel road, where Pogacar attacked and picked off the riders ahead of him. Mas was hot on his tail and the Spaniard dug deep to charge past Pogacar and come over the top of the climb ahead. Pogacar came off the road and into a grassy section after misjudging a corner, but he swiftly recovered to get back on Mas’s trail. The four-time Vuelta winner Roglic, Gall and Debruyne were chasing the front two, but Pogacar and Mas worked well together to keep their advantage. Pogacar led out towards the finish line and Mas could not catch him.

It was a bad day for Oscar Onley, who lost more than a minute and a half on his general classification rivals.

Earlier in the day, the Netcompany Ineos rider Josh Tarling abandoned the race with around 120km of the stage left, with his team not giving a reason. The Briton’s brother Finlay Tarling died in the Tour of Portugal after a crash with a vehicle, but Josh decided to race in Spain in honour of his sibling. “Josh Tarling’s brave La Vuelta has come to an end and he’s decided to stop. We couldn’t be prouder,” said Netcompany Ineos on social media.

Tarling produced a strong display in the first stage individual time trial, coming third behind Pogacar and Ethan Hayter.

On Friday, riders travel 149.8km from Vall D’Alba to the race’s second summit finale at Aramón Valdelinares.

When Steve Burton shows up, you never know what might happen. 

He is, after all, the man who once went viral for his reaction when holding an alligator on a Sunday night sportscast. So when the longtime WBZ Boston sports anchor walked up to his daughter, Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton, in the middle of an interview Wednesday, what happened next wasn’t shocking. 

KPIX reporter Matt Lively, who was in the middle of interviewing Veronica before Golden State’s Wednesday game against the Connecticut Sun, ceded the microphone to Steve, who took over the questioning in a moment that garnered hundreds of reposts on social media.

“You better produce tonight, that’s all I’m gonna say,” Steve said to his daughter. 

Ten seconds later, after Steve dispensed plenty more fatherly encouragement, Lively handed the mic over and stepped aside. Steve, who drove down from Boston on a scheduled day off, proceeded to conduct the rest of the interview. 

Though he has interviewed countless athletes during his three-decade run in the industry, it was a first to ask questions of his own flesh and blood.

“It was a lot of fun to do, and it was a lot of fun to be with her,” Steve told the Bay Area News Group. “I don’t ever remember interviewing my daughter.”

Lively said the Burton clan had 35 family members and friends in Connecticut to cheer on Veronica.

In February, Steve was in the Bay Area covering the New England Patriots at Super Bowl LX when Patriots players told him they saw a poster of Veronica in San Francisco. 

Steve even got called “Veronica’s dad” during a live shot outside the San Jose Convention Center. 

It’s a label he wears with utmost pride – even when gatecrashing his daughter’s moment to shine.

“You want to take in the moments,” Steve said. “And especially with what she’s gone through. There’s mountaintop experiences and there’s valleys. 

“And I said, ‘Don’t forget when you were down in the valley when we didn’t have a team or a place to play.’ And she goes, ‘Dad, I’m not gonna forget that.’ ”

Veronica and the Valkyries appear to be peaking at the moment. With their 89-64 win over Connecticut, the Valks remained unbeaten on their four-game trip two days after a breakthrough win at Minnesota. 

Steve watched that game excitedly from home. And his pregame message to Veronica centered around carrying forward the momentum of that watershed victory.

“I walked on the court, and the first thing I saw was she was being interviewed,” Steve recounted. “So I was going to go over and tease her while she was being interviewed, and then Matt said, ‘Come on, come on.’ I just told her, ‘Don’t let up.’”