Leo Loren,[1][2] better known by the stage name Baga Chipz, is an English drag queen known for competing on the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK (2019) and later the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (2022). Baga Chipz also appeared in the fifth series of the Channel 4 school drama series Ackley Bridge (2022).

Baga Chipz
Baga at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2023
Born
Leo Loren
NationalityBritish
OccupationDrag queen
TelevisionRuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 1)
RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (series 1)
Websitebagachipz.net

Career

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Baga Chipz is a part of "The Buffalo Girls", a drag troupe also featuring Lady Lloyd and Silver Summers.[3]

In 2014, Baga Chipz appeared in Drag Queens of London, a series documenting the lives of drag queens over a three-month period, both on and off the stage.[4]

On 21 August 2019, Baga Chipz was announced as one of the ten queens to be competing in the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK.[5] Baga Chipz won three challenges and finished in third place. During November and December 2019, Baga Chipz and the cast of series one of RuPauls Drag Race UK embarked on a tour hosted by Drag Race alumna Alyssa Edwards.[6] In January 2020, Baga Chipz attended the first ever RuPaul's DragCon UK.[7]

In December 2019, Baga Chipz, alongside fellow RuPaul's Drag Race UK contestant The Vivienne, began starring in Morning T&T on WOW Presents Plus.[citation needed] The show sees The Vivienne and Baga Chipz reprise their Snatch Game impersonations of Donald Trump and Margaret Thatcher, respectively, to host fictional television news show, and consisted of six episodes as of January 2020.[8] At DragCon UK in January 2020 an additional episode was filmed with The Vivienne and Baga Chipz appearing as themselves.[9] Guests on the web series included fellow Drag Race UK alumni Sum Ting Wong as Queen Elizabeth II and Cheryl Hole as Gemma Collins.[10][11]

In March 2020, Baga Chipz, once again alongside The Vivienne, started presenting the UK version of I Like to Watch, a web series produced by Netflix in which they review Netflix programming.[12]

 
Baga Chipz performing in 2020

Baga Chipz is known for her Amy Winehouse impression.[13]

In July 2020, Baga Chipz appeared on Celebrity Masterchef.[14] On 8 July 2020, Baga Chipz was eliminated from the competition.

In September 2020, Baga Chipz released her debut single titled "When The Sun Goes Down" in collaboration with Saara Aalto.[15] She also appeared on the ITV series Celebrity Karaoke Club which started on 23 September 2020.[16] In 2021, she was cast in the Channel 4 school drama series Ackley Bridge; she appeared in the fifth series in 2022.[17]

Baga Chipz later returned to compete on the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World, against competitors from across the Drag Race franchise, including fellow RuPaul's Drag Race UK Series 1 alumni, Blu Hydrangea and Cheryl Hole. During her time in the competition, she placed in the Top 2 in Episode 4 for her Snatch Game impersonation of Kathy Bates (as Annie Wilkes from Misery) and was up for elimination in Episode 5, but made it to the finale. She later went on to lose her lip-sync against Mo Heart from the tenth season of the American franchise in the first round of the finale Lip-Sync for the Crown tournament, ultimately tying for third place with fellow competitor Jujubee.

Discography

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Studio albums

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Title Details
Frock4Life

(with Frock Destroyers)

Singles

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Title Year Album
"When the Sun Goes Down"[15]
(with Saara Aalto)
2020 Non-album single
"Her Majesty" (with Frock Destroyers) FROCK4LIFE
"Big Ben" (with Frock Destroyers)
"A Very Harsh Christmas"
(with Kelly Peakman)
Non-album single
"Read" 2021
"Drag City"
"Much Betta" 2022
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Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[18]
US
Elec.

[19]
"Break Up (Bye Bye)"[20]

(The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race UK)

2019 35 45 Non-album single
"To the Moon" (Cast Version)[21]

(RuPaul ft. The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race UK)

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref
2014 Drag Queens of London Herself Main Cast [4]
2015–2017 London Calling Herself Guest [22]
2019 RuPaul's Drag Race UK Herself Contestant (3rd Place); Series 1
The X Factor: Celebrity Herself Guest [23]
Channel 4's Alternative Election Night Herself Guest [24]
The Big Fat Quiz of the Year Herself 2019 Edition (Guest) [25]
2020 CelebAbility Herself Guest
Roast Battle UK Herself Guest [26]
Pointless Celebrities Herself Guest [27]
Celebrity MasterChef Herself Contestant [28]
Celebrity Karaoke Club Herself Contestant [16]
2021 The Celebrity Circle Herself Contestant [29]
RuPaul's Drag Race UK Herself Special guest; Series 2
Brassic Herself Drag queen; series 3
2022 RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World Herself Contestant (3rd Place); Series 1
Schools Herself
Ackley Bridge Rusty Pipez Guest role; Series 5
RuPaul's Drag Race UK Herself Special guest; Series 4
Prince Andrew: The Musical Margaret Thatcher

Music videos

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Year Title Artist Ref.
2014 "Don't Rescue Me" Buffalo Girls [30]
2015 "You're There" Jeff Kristian [22]
2020 "Mask, Glove, Soap, Scrubs" Todrick Hall [31]
"Always" Waze & Odyssey [32]

Web series

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Year Title Role Notes Ref
2019-2020 Morning T&T Margaret Thatcher World of Wonder original [33]
2020 I Like to Watch UK Herself Netflix UK web series [34]
God Shave the Queens Herself World of Wonder docu-series [35]
Slag Wars Herself Men.com web reality series
2022 Lazy Generation: Stupid Stunts Herself Comedy Central UK web series [36]
Bring Back My Girls Herself World of Wonder original [37]

Theatre

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Year Title Role Theatre Ref.
2019 Cinderella Baroness Baga Trafalgar Studios [38]

References

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  1. ^ "Baga Chipz joins cast of huge Channel 4 show in career move". Birmingham Mail. 30 December 2021. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Baga Chipz: 'Pete Doherty was my upstairs neighbour'". The Times. 20 June 2022. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  3. ^ H., Ali (14 April 2014). "MEET THE CAST: THE DRAG QUEENS OF LONDON". Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Drag Queens of London: New promo for London Live's new series". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. 22 April 2014. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  5. ^ Smith, Reiss (21 August 2019). "The RuPaul's Drag Race UK queens are finally here". PinkNews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  6. ^ Crossley, Becki (13 September 2019). "Stars of RuPaul's Drag Race UK to tour in December, tickets on sale now". List. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  7. ^ Damshenas, Sam (22 January 2020). "Check out all the sickening lewks from the first ever RuPaul's DragCon UK". Gaytimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Morning T&T". WOW Presents Plus. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Morning T&T at RuPaul's DragCon UK 2020! - Season 1". WOW Presents Plus. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  10. ^ "REAL News and Graceful Brexits - Season 1". WOW Presents Plus. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Cancelled?!? - Season 1". WOW Presents Plus. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  12. ^ "The Vivienne and Baga Chipz host new Netflix series 'I Like to Watch UK'". Attitude.co.uk. 25 March 2020. Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  13. ^ Greig, Finley (21 November 2019). "Baga Chipz: who is the Drag Race UK finalist made famous by his Amy Winehouse performance?". Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Celebrity MasterChef 2020 full line-up revealed". Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  15. ^ a b Currinn, Jonathan (13 September 2020). "Saara Aalto Teams-Up With Baga Chipz For Awesome New Single "When The Sun Goes Down"". CelebMix. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  16. ^ a b Currinn, Jonathan (13 August 2020). "ITV Announces Line-Up For Celebrity Karaoke Club For ITV2 Including Stars Of Love Island, The X Factor And RuPaul's Drag Race". CelebMix. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  17. ^ Rodger, James (30 December 2021). "Baga Chipz joins cast of huge Channel 4 show in career move". Birmingham Mail. (Reach plc). Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  18. ^ "CAST OF RUPAUL's DRAG RACE UK | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  19. ^ "EDM Music & Dance Songs Chart - November 16, 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  20. ^ "Drag Race UK's girl group episode was the best in years, including America". 31 October 2019. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  21. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race U.K. Finale Recap: The Queen of England". 21 November 2019. Archived from the original on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  22. ^ a b "'You're There' charity single by Jeff Kristian". CancerIsADrag.com. 6 December 2015. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  23. ^ Maurice, Emma (1 December 2019). "Drag Race's The Vivienne slams X Factor for appearing to pay all performers except the drag queens". PinkNews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  24. ^ "Channel 4 adds raft of comedians and top TV talent to line-up for Alternative Election Night". Channel4.com. 11 December 2019. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  25. ^ Yeates, Cydney. "The Vivienne hits back as she's criticised for using word 'fishy' on Big Fat Quiz Of The Year 2019". Metro. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  26. ^ Brown, Steve (21 January 2020). "BAGA CHIPZ AND THE VIVIENNE BRING THE SHADE ON 'ROAST BATTLE UK' - WATCH". Attitude. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  27. ^ Williams, Isla (25 April 2020). "Baga Chipz and Gyles Brandreth hailed as 'pairing TV was invented for' in Pointless Celebrities". Metro. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  28. ^ Bray, Abbie (25 May 2020). "Celebrity Masterchef line-up 2020 includes first blind contestant Amar Latif and Drag Race's Baga Chipz". Metro. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  29. ^ "Famous names confirmed to play celebrity edition of The Circle for Stand Up To Cancer". Channel 4. 15 December 2020. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  30. ^ "'DRAG QUEENS' GROUP BUFFALO GIRLS PREMIERE NEW VIDEO". Attitude. 26 September 2014. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  31. ^ Mask, Gloves, Soap, Scrubs (Official Video). Todrick Hall. 29 April 2020. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  32. ^ George Michael (21 May 2020). "Always (Drag Stars Official Video)" (YouTube video). Archived from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  33. ^ "The Vivienne and Baga Chipz Serve "Morning T&T" in New Digital Series". NewNowNext.com. 22 November 2019. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  34. ^ Drag Queens Baga Chipz and The Vivienne React To Sex Education | I Like To Watch UK. YouTube. 25 March 2020. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  35. ^ Barraclough, Leo. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Producers Greenlight Two Docu-Series for SVOD (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  36. ^ Horrific Haircuts At Baga Chipz Salon | Ep #1 | Lazy Generation: Stupid Stunts Archived 28 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine YouTube
  37. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs. the World".
  38. ^ Perks, Daniel. "RuPaul's Drag Race UK contestant Baga Chipz to star in Cinderella in the West End". Variety.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
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