Entertainment
Drag Race UK: Nicola Sturgeon sends congratulatory letter to stars Lawrence Chaney and Ellie Diamond
Lawrence was crowned winner of Drag Race UK, while Ellie finished in fourth place (Picture: BBC)
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK stars Lawrence Chaney and Ellie Diamond have received a congratulatory letter from Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon after being honoured with a special award.
Earlier this year, Lawrence, Ellie and the other stars of Drag Race UK brought the house down with an epic series two, which saw Lawrence take the crown and fellow Scottish queen Ellie reach the grand finale.
The performers’ followings have since gone from strength to strength, with hundreds of thousands of fans following their every move on social media.
Lawrence and Ellie, who were the first Scottish queens ever to appear on Drag Race UK, were both recently granted the Young Scot Entertainment Award 2021, an award which Ms Sturgeon congratulated them on receiving.
Lawrence shared a screenshot on Twitter of the letter the politician sent them both, which Ellie then retweeted.
‘It is with great pleasure that I write to congratulate you both on winning the Young Scot Entertainment Award 2021,’ the letter read.
Ms Sturgeon praised the queens for inspiring young people (Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Being the first Scottish competitors chosen to appear on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is an outstanding achievement and you should feel extremely proud.’
Ms Sturgeon praised them both on ‘speaking openly’ on Drag Race UK about ‘growing up gay’, which she believes will have had a strong impact on young viewers.
‘By speaking openly on the show about your experiences of growing up gay, I am sure you will have inspired so many young people to be true to themselves,’ she said.
The First Minister signed off her letter by wishing them luck in the future, writing: ‘Congratulations once again. I am delighted that your efforts have been recognised by the Young Scot Awards, and good luck with your future endeavours.’
Several Twitter users also congratulated Lawrence and Ellie on the award, in addition to the recognition from Ms Sturgeon.
‘That’s amazing! Congratulations to you both! Well done!’ one person wrote in response to the letter.
‘Absolutely wonderful. Congratulations to you both x,’ someone else said, while another tweeted: ‘Well done both of you. Both of you were amazing and are doing fabulous. So chuffed for both of you.’
More: RuPaul’s Drag Race
While series two of Drag Race UK aired this year, series three is also set to commence in 2021.
It’s expected that series two star Veronica Green will be returning to the competition, after being forced to withdraw after testing positive for Covid-19.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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