It has been almost a year since Drag Race UK fans have been able to start their engines but it is time to strap in and get ready to go again with the season five release of the much-loved reality show.

We've already seen the likes of Heleburgh's most loved drag act Lawrence Chaney become the first queen to bring home the crown for Scotland in season two, while last year's edition of the show saw the multi-talented Danny Beard take the crown, as the delightful Cheddar Gorgeous landed as runner-up.

And now a whole new season of drag stars will line up in the hope they can be the UK's next drag race superstar with the latest edition of the show dropping on the BBC imminently.

Drag Race UK line up, who are the Drag Race season 5 queens

As announced via RuPaul and BBC Three on Monday evening, the latest set of fabulous drag stars making their debuts on the show have been confirmed.

The show will see the list of drag queens perform and face challenges that will test their talent to the max before they discover if they have avoided the dreaded bottom two queens of the week, who will then face a lip sync for their life and elimination from the competition.

Whoever wins the lip sync will be given a stay of execution while the loser will head home from the reality show (or sashay away for those experienced Drag Race viewers!).

This season's Queens are (in no particular order):

• Alexis Saint-Pete, 29, London

• Banskie, 23, Manchester

• Cara Melle, 26, London

• DeDeLicious, 20, Kent

• Ginger Johnson, 34, County Durham

• Kate Butch, 26, Buxton

• Michael Marouli, 39, Newcastle

• Miss Naomi Carter, 23, Doncaster

• Tomara Thomas, 25, Hartlepool

• Vicki Vivacious, 36, Cornwall

Who are the judges on Drag Race UK season 5

The show's creator, RuPaul, is one of the world's most connected celebrities - so Drag Race is always dripping into quality when it comes to their guest judges and regular judges.

We've seen the likes of Kathy Burke, Little Mix's Jade Thirlwall and Alison Hammond on the show as guest judges before and this year's list of famous faces have already been confirmed, so we know we have some goodies!

Aisling Bea, Alexandra Burke, Cush Jumbo, Daphne Guinness, Joel Dommett, Kristen McMenamy, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Suranne Jones and Yasmin Finney will also guest as part of the panel on the show this year. There will also be additional cameos that include Edward Enninful OBE, Carol Vorderman, Karen Hauer and Claudimar Neto. That is quite some line up!

Regular judge and long time friend Michelle Visage will continue alongside Graham Norton and Alan Carr as regular judges on the show, with Norton and Carr alternating as judges on a episodic basis.

Drag Race UK Season 5 air date, when is Drag Race UK Season 5 on TV

The fifth instalment of the series will begin this month on Thursday 28 September 2023.

The show will air on BBC Three, with each episode lasting around an hour. You will always be able to watch the show via BBC's iPlayer service, where you can also catch up on previous seasons from previous years.