Entertainment
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season 3: Ella Vaday’s Nigella Lawson Snatch Game astounds fans as queen ‘slays’ impersonation
Ella was simply iconic as Nigella (Picture: BBC)
Warning: spoilers ahead for episode 6 of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season 3.
Tonight was the night we finally saw the the stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season 3 take on Snatch Game – and they did not disappoint, with Ella Vaday astonishing fans with her incredible take on the queen of the kitchen Nigella Lawson.
For any queens who dare to take part in Drag Race, they know that one of the greatest achievements of the competition is participating in Snatch Game, the ultimate test of celebrity impersonations.
While the game inevitably sees some crash and burn, others excel at the chance to embody another character, making RuPaul cackle with laughter and landing them a place in the herstory books.
The latest episode of Drag Race UK saw the queens select several widely-loved individuals as their subjects, including Ella as Nigella, Kitty Scott-Klaus as a fabulously authentic Gemma Collins, Scarlett Harlett as a petrified Home Alone-era Macaulay Culkin and Krystal Versace as the one and only Charity Shop Sue.
Choriza May played Cuban singer Margarita Pracatan, while Vanity Milan chose comedian Jocelyn Jee Esien and River Medway decided to channel her inner Towie star as Amy Childs.
Kitty’s GC impersonation was spot on (Picture: BBC)
Guest stars Nadine Coyle and Judi Love couldn’t contain their laughter as the queens bantered and flaunted their best comedic talents on stage, with some attempts at humour resulting in moments of awkward silence.
Ella’s initial plan had been to participate in Snatch Game as Mystic Meg, complete with a black bob wig and bright purple ensemble.
However, after demonstrating her off-the-cuff Nigella impression to Ru in the Werk Room, Ella changed her mind, deciding instead to play the TV cook and delivering an utterly legendary performance.
And just like that, we’re transported back to 1990 (Picture: BBC)
From Nigella’s iconic pronunciation of ‘mee-cro-wah-vay’ to the unique way she said RuPaul’s name, Ella completely embodied the British icon, making good use of her natural improv skills and her theatre background.
Kitty, who had originally planned on playing Cilla Black on Snatch Game, also changed her mind after a chat with Ru, opting for reality star Gemma, an impression she knew she could deliver without fail.
River’s Amy Childs impression had its moments but wasn’t fully fleshed out (Picture: BBC)
Her impression was spot on, and we have a feeling the GC herself would definitely approve.
Drag Race UK fans were stunned by the incredible portrayals of Nigella and Gemma on the show, with lots of praise flooding social media in particular for Ella’s astounding performance.
‘Oh my god. @EllaVaday doing @Nigella_Lawson on Snatch Game tonight is my absolute FAV,’ one person tweeted.
‘@EllaVaday is absolutely SLAYING as Nigella, I’m screaming,’ someone else remarked.
Another viewer full of praise for Kitty as Gemma said: ‘Kitty reciting Gemma Collins quotes has me screaming.’
‘Ella & Kitty are killing this snatch game!’ someone else commented.
While Ella and Kitty shone in the challenge, some of the other queens failed to make as strong an impression.
Although River knew all of Amy’s Towie catchphrases and delivered a believable impression of the star, her impersonation didn’t embody the character quite as much as some may have hoped it would.
More: BBC Three
Krystal’s attempt at recreating Charity Shop Sue’s humour missed the mark, while Choriza and Vanity’s performances could have also gone bigger.
Nonetheless, as a group, this year’s Snatch Game featured a strong batch of performances that complemented each other, raising the bar even higher for season four.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK returns next Thursday at 7pm on BBC Three and is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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