Celebrity guest judges announced for second UK series of RuPaul’s Drag Race

Model and actress Liz Hurley has said her family would have “disowned” her if she’d said no to being a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Hurley, 55, as well as TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, singer and actress Sheridan Smith, singer and producer MNEK and model Jourdan Dunn, have all been announced as guest judges for the second UK series.

Show host RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Graham Norton and Alan Carr will also return to the judging panel on the 10-week show which airs on BBC iPlayer in January.

Hurley said: “I had a great time being a guest judge on the first episode. I really enjoyed seeing all these girls working so hard. There are a lot of beautiful costumes, hard work and a lot of talent.”

She added: “My whole family is obsessed with the show and would have disowned me if I hadn’t said yes to being a judge”.

The 12 queens competing to be crowned the winner are Tayce, Joe Black, A’Whora, Tia Kofi, Ellie Diamond, Sister Sister, Veronica Green, Bimini Bon Boulash, Ginny Lemon, Asttina Mandella, Cherry Valentine and Lawrence Cheney.

Norton and Carr will join RuPaul and Visage on a rotational basis, alongside a celebrity guest judge.

The hugely popular show features drag artists from around the UK and challenges them with weekly tasks to test their drag skills.

Each week, the bottom two queens have to lip sync their way to survival.

Smith said: “I am such a superfan! I’m shaking! Ru was sat next to me! And Michelle Visage! And Alan Carr! It’s been amazing. The queens are fabulous. I had the best day. I felt like I’d won a competition”.

British producer and musician MNEK returns to the series as a guest judge after being a guest vocal coach during the first series.

MNEK said: “I’m a fan of Drag Race, as is most of the gay community. It’s literally our version of sports or something. I was on it last year, as a vocal coach and I loved being a part of it. So to be asked to judge this year, I was so so so excited”.

Model Dunn said the series “puts the biggest smile on my face”, adding that it also “just warms my heart seeing the Queens come together and be their true, authentic selves. Yeah, I feel what it stands for – unity and being who you wanna be and I’m here for it”.

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series two airs on BBC iPlayer at 7pm on January 14.