Nick Collier AKA Ella Vaday is The Drag Beast from Dagenham East. Is Dagenham Essex or London? It’s Essex innit! Ella appeared on Season 3 of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK in 2021, and has since shot to drag stardom. Nick trained in musical theatre and dance when he was 16. And after graduating performed in Wicked, Book of Mormon, Cats, Fame among other West End smashes. Ella has now been performing in Pantomime, so how does Nick act as Ella acting as an Ugly Sister - it’s drag inception! Being in drag gives you so much more permission to be cheeky with a crowd, and they love it. Anything you think in your head, you can say when you’re in drag, the more unfiltered the better. How did COVID and a job at Morrisons supermarket help turbocharge Ella’s online presence? How do you apply for Drag Race? The nervous days building up to the first show. How do you find your style and personality when you start out in drag? Ella became a yummy mummy type character. Big hair, big hips, big boobs - larger than life. Drag artists are very in control of how they look, what they say, what they sing. It is important to carve out a niche and be different from other characters. Nick started tap dancing at 5 years old. There is stigma around dancing for young boys. The importance of learning young and getting discipline to listen and practice. Learning from rejection. Learning from life experiences. Tips for a memorable casting. Dirty dirty dirty - Ella was Nigella Lawson on Drag Race Snatch Game and the internet LOVED it - and it was a last minute change from Mystic Meg - phew, lucky switch. Nick used to sell perfume in a department store, and it set him Ella for amazing drag chat and crowd work. Drag is becoming more mainstream with more nights popping up in towns and cities. The business of DragCon and meeting fans. Setting up a booth on a budget! Tips for Baby Queens just starting out on the drag scene. Practice at home. Take your time. Learn how to do things. And Halloween is a great time to go out for the first time because everyone is dressed up. Look out for open mic nights, or just go to a club and feel the fantasy. Ella acted in a movie, Sumoverhood, alongside Lethal Bizzle. Nick thrives on short deadlines and pressure to be creative. AND we discover that Ella’s first ever public outing was Southend Pride… a true ESSEX girl!

Ella on Insta
Facebook
TikTok
DragRace Fanpage
Wikipedia
Nick on Insta

Are You Creative? recorded by Adam from Lawker Media at Lawker Media Studio
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

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Thanks to NGDA for their support

Recorded in Chelmsford, Essex, UK