Belfast drag queen hopes to make NI proud

Belfast-born drag queen Charra Tea is celebrating her sixth year in drag and living her dream as part of the latest cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.

Charra, played by 23-year-old James Martin, is known to her thousands of Instagram followers as the “Princess of Primary Color.”

“I’m not a sporty person by any means, but I feel like I’ve run about 17 marathons,” Charra said.

“It’s very intense, but absolutely incredible. It’s definitely like the drag Olympics.

“I’m here to represent the tacky and colorful out there, and no one else will want to wear primary colors, so that makes me stand out,” he said.

“I know I will always be the brightest queen in every photo I’m in.”

Charra Tea is the third contestant from Northern Ireland to land a place on the show and has big shoes to fill.

Northern Ireland’s first contestant, Blu Hydrangea, came fifth in the show’s first UK series in 2019.

She then won the first season of the spin-off series RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs the World.

In 2022, Belfast-born Jonbers Blonde was a finalist on the fourth series of the original UK show.

“I was very proud to be the third queen chosen from such a talented group of drag performers in Northern Ireland,” Charra said.

“Blu and Jonbers did amazing, so there’s always extra pressure, but it’s also exciting!”

It may have been his third time auditioning, but Charra said he’s happy the call came at that time.

“Any other time it would have been too soon.”

James Martin was first drawn to drag when he took part in a production of Hairspray at Grosvenor Grammar School.

The shy student was forced to take on the role of Mr. Pinky, but found confidence in the fluorescent pink suit and pink feather boa he was given.

It wasn’t until a few years later that he decided to try drag for himself.

“I used to volunteer at a charity shop in Belfast on Botanic Avenue and I loved seeing all the fabulous clothes, dresses and costumes that came in,” Charra explained.

“I was always so jealous that I couldn’t wear them, and then one day I thought, you know what? “I’m going to start doing drag and I’m going to buy these dresses so I can wear them.”

James loved the name Charity but wanted something a little different, and Charra Tea was born.

In each episode, drag queens compete in a variety of challenges to become the UK’s next drag superstar.

Contestants are expected to excel in acting, styling, lip-syncing and more to make it to the final weeks while facing fierce criticism from RuPaul, Michelle Visage and a panel of celebrity guests.

One of the recurring challenges is the Snatch Game, a pun on the American game show Match Game, in which contestants try to match fill-in-the-blank answers given by celebrity panelists.

Expectations are high for drag queens, who are expected to make RuPaul laugh with their celebrity impressions.

“I was always very nervous about the start,” Charra said.

“It’s very iconic. But I was also very excited for a design, sewing and creating challenge because that’s what I love to do.”

Charra left Belfast at 19 to go to university in Leeds, where her drag career continued to flourish, but she said she is still a Belfast queen at heart.

“I was born in Belfast; “My drag was born here,” he said.

“I will always be a Belfast queen as long as Belfast accepts me.

“The drag scene is a little smaller, but I think that builds a wonderful community. There’s such a diverse scene in such a small place, which is amazing.

“I hope to make our little country proud.”

Drag Race UK starts at 21:00 BST on Thursday on BBC Three and is available on BBC iPlayer.