Rita Ora ‘pulled out of RPDR UK guest spot’ forcing producers to replace her with dummy
Guest judge 'Rickaaaaay' stole the show on last week's episode
Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: ITV/BBC
Rita Ora was indirectly responsible for the show-stealing mannequin on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK last week, according to reports.
The ‘Bang Bang’ singer dropped out of the slot at the last minute, reports the Daily Mail, forcing producers to improvise.
And that they did, to brilliant effect!
“Surprisingly, it worked out OK”
A source told The Sun [as per the Daily Mail]: “Everyone on set was anticipating Rita’s arrival but, when she didn’t show up, producers had to use their heads and came up with the idea of decorating a mannequin.
“Surprisingly, it worked out OK and became a running joke.”
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The episode in question was filmed last November and screened last week. It saw Tayce, Bimini, Lawrence Chaney and Ellie Diamond film an EastEnders-inspired skit – with Ricky the mannequin then flirting outrageously with the competitors.
The dummy was seemingly inspired by Danny Dyer’s EastEnders character Mick Carter. (Although looked rather like Rylan Clark-Neal.)
Thrilled to finally be asked to be a guest judge on @dragraceukbbc #DragRaceUK #humbled 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/6cgEB9S4CB
— Rylan Clark-Neal (@Rylan) March 11, 2021
Rita – known for hits like ‘I Will Never Let You Down’ and ‘How We Do (Party)’ – previously served as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars in 2018. The Masked Singer judge recently headlined the Sydney Lesbian & Gay Mardi Gras celebrations.
A rep for Rita declined to comment when contacted by Attitude, as did a rep for the BBC.
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