Drag Superstar Ginger Johnson isn’t resting on her laurels after winning season five of Drag Race UK. After taking home the crown and scepter, Ginger is starring in her own original series on WOW Presents Plus. Ginger’s House is a brand new six-part series where she is joined weekly by some very special guests discussing the whys and wherefores of the world of UK drag, as well as getting around to a few overdue domestic chores.
Expect to see some familiar faces with special guest appearances from the Drag Race UK alumni, including Kate Butch, Cara Melle, Miss Naomi Carter, Danny Beard, Tia Kofi, Victoria Scone, Vanity Milan, and Jonbers Blonde, all dropping by Ginger’s humble abode for a cup of tea, a natter and a nibble on some ginger nuts.
Described as “Newcastle’s answer to Elaine Stritch”, Ginger cut her teeth on the alt-drag and cabaret scenes of East London, where her unique blend of camp laughs and bareknuckle confessional earned her a reputation for being a risk-taking performer with a big heart and an even bigger mouth. She was a fixture of the UK performance scene, delighting audiences at festivals and theaters. She is a talented writer and performer, as evidenced by her run on Drag Race UK.
We had the chance to chat with Ginger about the new series, her experience on Drag Race UK, and lots more in our exclusive interview. She also gave us a chance to get to know her even better as she answered the Socialite Seven. Come and knock on her door. She’s been waiting for you!
Congrats on the new series. How did you come up with the concept for the show?
Oh, it was actually really organic, to be honest. I knew that I wanted to do something inspired by the great tradition of British sitcoms and I knew that I wanted to involve some of the amazing sisters that I’ve met through being on Drag Race. It just seemed a fun idea to see what I imagine people wonder Ginger Johnson’s house is like. You know, what is she like when she’s at home? What is that whole thing about? And so, it all sort of came together quite quickly really, and then once we found the amazing house that we filmed the show in, it all fell into place very quickly.
You’ve got some great guests on the series (like Cara Melle – my favorite, especially since she’s from Atlanta). What was it like working with them?
Oh, it was so fab. And you know, Cara was absolutely brilliant in that first episode. She was so great on the day of filming. And, you know, Cara and I had our little spicy moments on our series but we’ve always been really, really good friends, and I was so glad that she could join me. I’m really glad that all of the girls took part. It’s a really special bunch of people that we managed to get to film the show, and they all bring a different, unique energy to each episode.
I think it’s going to be a very surprising series. It’s something different going on every time and it was just great fun to play with them because there are parts of it that are improvised and parts of it that are scripted, so it kept it feeling fresh while we were doing it – and I hope that comes across in the show.
Who would you like to have as some future guests if you had to choose?
I obviously have thought about this because I will be petitioning World of Wonder and the BBC for a second series. I mean, I think I would need to have my fellow Angels of the North, Michael (Marouli) and Tomara (Thomas), along at some point, they would need to come around. But I’d also love to have some of the international girls round to the show. There are loads of queens from the Drag Race universe that I still haven’t met yet. It might actually be a great excuse for me to just set up my dream meet and greets with people in my own house. I don’t even have to go and find them. They can just come around to my house.
Do you consider yourself a domestic goddess? Is there a chore that you loathe?
No, I’m definitely not a domestic goddess. I’m a domestic idiot, if anything. I managed to get by. You know, I actually quite enjoy doing the washing up. Do you call it doing the washing up in America? What do you call it? Is that like cleaning the dishes? I actually really enjoy doing the dishes. It’s like meditation for me because there’s all the bubbles and the smell of the soap and you can get into a rhythm with it.You can put on some nice music in the background.
So, that appeals to me, but I don’t know if you’ve ever seen actual drag queen’s house, but I’ve never been around to a drag queen’s house that wasn’t a complete bomb site because all of the glitter and the hair and the sequins and you’ve got four times the wardrobe of anybody that you’ve ever met. It’s impossible to keep on top of it all.So, um, no, I’m definitely not a domestic goddess, but I’m trying. I’m trying my hardest.
Could you talk a little bit about how you got started into drag?
It was a complete accident. I was doing a scriptwriting degree at university because I wanted to be a writer. I’d always done a bit of performing in the background, and as part of that degree, we had to write a play for radio, a one person play. And, to in order to get that part of our degree marked, you had to record the radio play. I wrote this character based on some of the women that I grew up around and you know, my comedy influences on TV and that kind of thing.
I didn’t know anybody that I could ask to record it for me so I just did it myself. I thought it’s only a radio thing. It’s only my voice. And then somebody heard that and asked me, would I do it live as part of a little theatre festival. And I thought, yeah, that’d be fun. So, I did that. And then I blinked my eyes and it’s now 16, 17 years later and this is my full-time job and I won Drag Race. I honestly have no idea what happened in between, but I went from being someone who had basically never done drag to it just snowballing in front of me. And I’m so glad it did.
You know, it constantly surprises me. It’s a great job to have because it’s actually, you know, 25 different jobs. You are a writer and a performer and a designer and you have to be able to do marketing and graphic design and you have to be able to talk to people and do interviews and all sorts of things. It keeps me interested, you know, you never have two days that are the same and that’s the kind of person I am. I need that kind of inspiration in my life.
What was your favorite and least favorite challenge on your season of Drag Race UK?
Ooh, tricky. Well, I have three favorites and they’re the three that I’ve won. I got my three badges in a row. You know, I think if I had to choose, it’s hard. My favorite one, actually doing it in the moment, was doing the comedy challenge with Kate Butch because we had waited all series to work closely together on a comedy acting thing, because it’s something that we both love to do.
It was just so fun. We had the best time doing it. So, that was really great. But Snatch Game was a real turning point for me because up until filming the Snatch Game, I had been so focused, nervous and focused on doing the challenges and just getting on with it and trying to keep on the straight and narrow and make sure I was doing everything that I could do that I hadn’t even really realized that that I was on Drag Race.
I hadn’t taken a moment to reflect on what was happening around me, and then on the day that we filmed Snatch Game, I sat down at the big sparkly desk with the Snatch Game cards in front of me, and Ru walked out to stand beside me. And I had a real, genuine, out of body experience where my soul left my body and looked down on the situation and I thought, shit, I am on Drag Race right now. I’ll never forget that moment. The hairs are standing on my arms thinking about it now because it was a real moment of realization, because even from when you get the call to say that you’re going on the show, there is so much to do to get there, especially because I was making all of the clothes myself as well.
It was you going at a hundred miles an hour. It never stops, and it wasn’t until that moment, I remember, Cara was sat beside of me and I was doing a bit of breathing to try and calm myself down, you know, taking some deep breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth and Kara turned to me and she was like, are you feeling okay? And I just turned back to her and said, “we’re on Drag Race”. And she said, “yes, bitch, I know”. That was a very special moment.
The worst one…none of them were bad. Not for me. I mean, I think most people would say the one that they went home on, but I never went home.
Besides Ginger’s House, what is the best thing that’s happened to you since winning the season?
God, it’s hard because there’s so many amazing things. The thing that brings me the most joy is doing meet and greets before the shows, because getting to meet the people that have supported me to the point where I can do this is so wonderful. I love hearing about their stories and hearing about how Drag Race has affected them and changed their lives and what the drag community means to them and what they’ve discovered about themselves through drag.
Getting to hear that kind of stuff face to face with people is so wonderful. I’m on tour at the moment and I’ve basically been nonstop touring since I won the show with different shows, and no matter how far I’ve traveled, or how tired I might be, or if I’m losing my voice, or whatever’s going on in the world, that hour before the show, that’s when I get to meet all of these wonderful people and it gives me the energy to do anything.
I could do anything after a meet and greet. I feel so inspired by it. So that’s the most surprising thing. That’s the thing that really surprised me. It’s just a really, really lovely experience.
What’s the best thing that you’ve taken away from working on Drag Race?
Oh, that’s another hard one because it’s so, it’s so many things. I try not to second guess myself as much as I have done in the past now because, you know, I’ve got the ultimate stamp of approval.
On Drag Race, you’ve got to run on your wits. You’ve got to go in there with a really strong plan and then you’ve also got to be able to change that plan if it’s not working. You just have to trust yourself. That’s the, the nerve in charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. You have to just go for it and I think Drag Race proved to me that my sense is good and I just need to go for it. And when it’s not good, I just need to laugh about it and let it slide on by.
What is next for you?
Hollywood! I don’t know. I’d love to make more Ginger’s House. I’d love to do that. I’m doing a show in the West End at Christmas. I’m currently on my solo tour at the moment. And then I’ve got, oh, this is one of those awful answers. I’m just going through, has it been announced yet? I, I have a really, really exciting thing that I’m doing at the beginning of next year, but I can’t possibly tell you what it is but there’s something really, really fab coming. That is a huge dream come true of mine. I’d also love to do more comedy with Kate because we just have such a great time together and people seem to like it. So hopefully we can convince somebody to let us do that.
Ginger Johnson Answers the Socialite Seven
Who has had the biggest influence on your career and why?
It’s got to be RuPaul. She changed my career and she changed my life. I am a hard up RuPaul fan. I’ve read all the books and actually I read House of Hidden Meanings as soon as it came out and reading that the penny dropped for me a little bit about why Ru and I got on so well, and to say that we grew up in different times on different sides of the planet and under very different circumstances, we have had quite similar experiences as attention seeking lunatics.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
I’m kind of easygoing, you know, I don’t really have that many. Let me think really carefully about that so I don’t say something awful. I think people that take themselves too seriously. I’ll say that life can be really serious, but you’re running late for something, drop something or someone’s in your way…any of those things that people get really annoyed about, give it up. Life’s too short.
If you wrote your own autobiography, what would the title be?
It would be How the Sausage is Made – not that I’ve thought about that lots and lots and lots, but yes, that’s how I would call it. Ginger Johnson, How the Sausage is Made.
What superpower or talent would you like to wake up with tomorrow?
I would love to be able to go without sleep. I love sleeping and I would miss the actual act of sleeping. But what I love more than anything is working. Sleeping just gets in the way, especially now. I’m 36 now, so the older you get, the more of it that you need. And sometimes I’m like, God, I wish I just had a bit more energy. I wish I could go for a few more hours, you know? I think that would have to be it.
What are three things that you can’t live without?
Oh, my partner, my cats…and I’m trying to think of something that’s acceptable to go into print. My partner, my cats, and my job. My job. It means everything to me.
What are you the most grateful for?
Every single day. Every single day I wake up and I’m so grateful to have another go. You know, each day is just another chance at trying something new and making people happy. And yeah, that’s it.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Every bit of advice I’ve ever been given has gone out of my head now. Oh, T. S. Madison…she didn’t give it directly to me, but she said it on a podcast once and it’s really, really, really stuck with me. If you are the smartest person in the room, get out of that room. I think about that quite a lot. You know, if you’re the one carrying everybody else, it’s time to time to move up a gear and find the next room full of people who can inspire you.
Head over to Ginger’s House on WOW Presents Plus. Follow Ginger on Instagram and check out her website.
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