Drag Queen culture has experienced something of a resurgence in recent years, with shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race attracting millions of viewers in the UK alone.

Drag nights are becoming more and more popular around the country and after years without one, Gloucestershire finally has a regular event dedicated to Drag Queens.

Misty Monique is at the forefront of these shows and explains how she got into performing.

She said: “Growing up I never understood how at proms and weddings and events like that women could get dressed up and wear amazing outfits, but the men were always in boring grey and black suits.

“I dabbled in drag when I was 17/18 years old in school art projects but never considered myself a performer or singer.

“I was convinced by a queen called Miss Felicia who ran a show called ‘Felicia’s Drag Race’ to give performing a go, and I loved it.”

Misty now hosts a regular drag night in her hometown of Cheltenham – the first of its kind in the county for over seven years – along with her own version of Drag Race.

“At ‘Oh My Drag!’ we have a core cast and it’s a real variety show,” she continued. “We lip sync, sing, do comedy and we always have a guest performer from different places around the UK.

“Drag Wars’ is our competition that’s in its fifth year now and we have Drag Queens and Kings from all over the country coming.

“Each performer gets 10 minutes on stage to do what they want. There’s a panel of judges and the audience also votes to decide a winner.”

Misty’s events often sell out – all of them but one so far, she tells me – and she agrees that aforementioned RuPaul’s Drag Race has had a massive effect making them more mainstream.

“In the UK we’ve known people like Dame Edna over the years,” she said, “but with Drag Race being accessible on the biggest streaming service in the world it’s definitely a new era for Drag Queens.

“It’s had a massive influence on the UK scene and with ‘Drag Race UK’ coming soon it’ll only get more popular.”

Misty stresses that her shows are a place for members of the LGBT+ community to express themselves in, but is always keen to welcome people of all ages from all different walks of life.

“Drag events are important because they’re a safe space for mainly young LGBT+ people to go, but we’re open to everyone.

“At an event in the past I had a man come up to me and say, ‘I came with my granddaughter and you’ve completely changed my mind on drag queens’, which was amazing.”

But at the end of the day, the show is all about entertainment – so what’s the best thing about being a Drag Queen?

“The money, the attention,” she laughed. “No I’m joking, it’s a great creative outlet. I studied Computing Mathematics at university, so I’ve always been quite logical and academic, and this is just so different.

“I love the art of it all, it’s really fun, and hosting and performing has become my true passion.”