Charra Tea: Belfast drag queen hoping to break out in series 6 of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK

Charra Tea, also known as James Martin, is a drag queen from Belfast and is one of 12 contestants competing on the British edition of the show.

The competition returns to TV screens tonight with a host of celebrity judges including Graham Norton, Michelle Visage and several others.

Charra Tea is participating in the sixth season of the show and is excited and nervous about the premiere.

In a post on Instagram social media before the show aired, he said. “This whole process has been amazing and I’m so excited (and terrified) for you all to see what we’ve been up to.”

The first contestant from Northern Ireland on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK was drag queen Blu Hydrangea, who came fifth on the show’s UK debut.

Blu has competed on the show several times and won a spin-off of the show RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World.

James Martin’s first interest in drag began when he participated in a school play performing Hairspray.

“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 told the BBC.

“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.

“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.”

The BBC Three show is made up of 12 drag queens who compete against each other in various games and challenges ranging from dress design, dancing, singing, acting and more.

RuPaul calls the shots as host of the show and is known for being the creator of the US-based original series that first aired in 2009.

One of the show’s fan-favorite games is called ‘Snatch Game,’ where contestants must go on stage and do celebrity impressions in a parody game show inspired by Blankety Blank.

The contest runs for 10 weeks and the bottom two contestants of each episode must “lip sync for their lives” before one is eliminated from the competition.

Charra is the third contestant from Northern Ireland to be on the show and thanked all those who supported her along the way.

“A huge thank you to everyone who helped me on my drag journey,” she said.

“I really couldn’t have done it without my friends, my family, my boyfriend and my entire queer family. And this is just the beginning.”

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK will be available on BBC iPlayer.