Who is Choriza May? All you need to know about the North East RuPaul's Drag Race contestant

Choriza May, one of the drag queens competing in the latest series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, attending a photo call at The Loft, Soho Works in London. Picture date: Tuesday September 14, 2021.

Season three of RuPaul’s Drag Race kicks off this Thursday and the North East is represented by a new queen hoping to take the crown back to the region via Spain.

Choriza May is the stage name of Adrian Johnson, 30, who has lived in Newcastle for five years after moving from Valencia.

A reletively new face to the drag scene, Choriza May won Drag Idol – an intensive compeition hosted by Newcastle’s Switch bar – just a few months after trying the art form for the first time. The momentum carried her all the way to a headline spot at Northern Pride in 2019.

In the build up to the new series, which has episodes released weekly on BBC Three, she said “winning Drag Race UK would mean the absolute world [to me].”

Describing herself as a “walking stereotype”, Choriza has warned her competitors she is a “sexy mama and queen of drama” in the promotional videos for the show.

12 drag queens enter the compeition, with one sent home every week by a judging panel with one celebrity guest judge each episode.

Guest judges for this season include Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Oti Mabuse, Emma Bunton, Kathy Burke, Matt Lucas and Alesha Dixon with more set to be announced.

Each week consists of a small ‘mini challenge’ and a ‘maxi challenge’ in which queens can showcase their acting, singing, craft and scriptwriting skills.

Season three of Drag Race starts on Thursday with episodes released weekly on BBC Three.