Drag Race UK icon Tia Kofi is bringing the drama with ‘surreal’ Hollyoaks role
Tia Kofi. (Getty)
Drag Race UK star Tia Kofi is moving from RuPaul’s runway to a famous little village in Chester after landing a role in E4’s Hollyoaks.
We know Tia can dance, sing, and generally slay the house down, but now it’s time for her to put her acting chops to the test as she touches down in Hollyoaks to give resident drag queen Anita Tinkle a run for her money.
Tia Kofi is set to make her festive Hollyoaks this week at the annual fairy parade, and she’s turning the sexy villain persona up to the max.
The Drag Race UK season two star will be using her charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent to upstage Scott Drinkwell’s (played by Ross Adams) drag persona, Anita Tinkle.
Ahead of her appearance on the beloved soap, Tia revealed that she had been something of a Hollyoaks superfan before she booked the gig.
“I had a wonderful time on set filming Hollyoaks, she said, per DigitalSpy.
“Considering the fact that I ran a Hollyoaks fan club at school, this was a really surreal moment for me.”
She teased: “I’m looking forward to them writing me in as a semi-regular cast member, ideally a new McQueen.”
Meanwhile, although Tia and Anita may bump heads while the cameras are rolling, actor Ross Adams had nothing but praise and admiration for his new Drag Race rival.
“I’m a huge fan of Drag Race and Tia Kofi was amazing in season 2 so I was so excited when I met her for the first time,” he gushed.
“It was like half 6 in the morning, we were both in makeup first because obviously it takes a lot of time to look that cheap.
“What I thought was really lovely was that Tia is a true Hollyoaks fan. She was so much fun to work with and her lines I found hilarious – she is so lovely in real life but her character is really mean!
“Her outfit as well is just unreal, she’s dressed as a fabulous glamourous elf, and her pigtails were so cute, a little bit of Britney going on, but pink.”
It’s an iconic next step in Tia Kofi’s drag career, but she’s not the first Drag Race UK star to cameo in the long-running TV show.
Earlier this year, Danny Beard, who won season four of Drag Race UK and made history as the first bearded winner of the Drag Race franchise, popped up in the Chester village, too.
They appeared in a two-part special back in March centered around lesbian characters Peri (Ruby O’Donnell) and Juliet (Niamh Blackshaw).
When Juliet, who has an aggressive form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and Peri lose their possessions after travelling down to Brighton to tick everything off their queer bucket list, they bump into a familiar face who offers them a ride back home.
“Did I ever think I’d be in a soap, playing myself in drag, driving a drag wagon from Brighton to Chester to help two teenage lesbians while one of them has got cancer?”, Danny Beard asked PinkNews at the time.
“No, I didn’t. But I’m very proud to be a part of it. It’s camp, crazy and cuckoo.”
You can see Tia show Hollyoaks how it’s done online via Channel 4 on Tuesday (19 December), or live on Wednesday (20 December) at 7pm on E4.
