Two Novocastrians will face off in season two of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under on Stan later this month.
One is comedian Rhys Nicholson, who is a judge on the popular reality series, and the other is Molly Poppinz, one of 10 competing queens handpicked by RuPaul herself.
The 30-year-old first made a name for herself in Vancouver, Canada, after struggling to find the confidence to do drag in Newcastle. Often referred to as "The Thunder from Down Under', Molly was embraced by the queer community in Canada and found the assurance she needed to perform for a crowd.
From 2016 to 2019 Molly worked full-time as a drag performer in Vancouver, known for her fun and campy numbers but also lending her talents as a DJ, MC and rapper.
In 2018 she was crowned Vancouver's "Most Fierce Queen".
Molly returned home to Newcastle in 2019 and hopes to build a thriving drag community in the city.
"I came back and we'd lost our gay club, The Gateway, and the big penis tower. I took it personally," she said, laughing.
"It would be difficult to do drag full-time in Newcastle.
"We don't have any queer venues and not a lot of queer spaces - it's not like Oxford Street in Sydney where there are drag shows every night of the week.
"The thing is, whether it's a function space or a cafe, we can make it work. We just want to let our voices be heard and to share our art.
"And when we do shows in Newcastle, they are always packed."
Host RuPaul was "terrifying" but inspiring.
"She's such a professional. To share the same air as RuPaul was honestly an out-of-body experience for me," Molly said.
"I have already run a marathon in life, but I feel this is just the beginning.
"In two seasons we've had two Newcastle queens and I think that is such an achievement.
"We're really putting Newcastle and Newcastle drag on the map, and showing that you don't have to be from a big city to be good at drag."
As for Nicholson, he will be joined on the judging panel by Drag Race veteran judge Michelle Visage and RuPaul herself.
"I am vibrating with excitement to be back, back, back again for another season of Down Under tomfoolery with my stage mother Ru and daddy Michelle," he said.
"I'm so proud to be a part of this family and what a bloody privilege it is to see this new batch of girls take it to the runway and show the world what makes Australasian drag so special."
