RuPaul's Drag Race UK crowns winner as BBC axes the series

Warning: This article includes spoilers for the finale of RuPaul's Drag Race UK.

After 10 weeks of toe-to-toe lip-syncs, fierce runways and shady remarks, the time has come for one queen to be named the UK's next Drag Race superstar.

For the final time on the BBC, 12 contestants were whittled down to just one after the broadcaster announced it was axing RuPaul's Drag Race UK due to budget cuts.

On Thursday night, RuPaul crowned Flesh as the series eight winner.

The London queen snatched the title from Mocha, Naya Thorn and Alik who also made it to the final episode.

Flesh was awarded the £25,000 cash prize after impressing the judges in the final maxi challenge, which saw the last four queens perform a megamix of previous girl group anthems from past series.

The 26-year-old was crowned by last year's winner, Bones, who is also her best friend and drag sister, with the duo performing together as Heavenly Bodies.

"To be here with Bones is just the perfect moment, this is everything I have ever dreamed of and more," Flesh said as she won.

Flesh has stood out across the series as a fashion queen, bringing looks to the runway that RuPaul said would go down in the franchise's history.

Speaking to RuPaul and judge Michelle Visage during the final episode, Flesh said the series "tells people it's not only OK to be them but it's a gift and a dream, and to be crowned the UK's next drag race superstar would be mine coming true".

She made it through the series without ever being in the bottom two and only had to lip-sync for the first time in the final when the top three queens battled it out for the win.

After Alik was eliminated, Flesh, Mocha and Naya Thorn performed a rendition of David Bowie's Modern Love.

Posting on Instagram after missing out on the crown, Mocha said she was "so proud" of herself.

"Not everything can go your way and whilst I wanted to believe it was mine I respect the decision made."

The decision to shelve the programme was announced shortly after the latest series began airing, with the BBC saying it was facing "very difficult choices" amid "significant financial pressures".

The franchise will continue but will instead only be broadcast on Wow Presents Plus, a streaming platform owned by the production company behind the show.

While some fans have welcomed the prospect of a new chapter for the series which might include bigger cash prizes, like in other spin-offs, others fear leaving the BBC will mean less representation for LGBTQ+ culture.

It wasn't only the UK's next Drag Race superstar recognised by RuPaul during the finale episode - the Miss Congeniality title is typically awarded to the friendliest and kindest queen.

This year that title was awarded to Paris Baby, who created more than her fair share of drama across the series, in particular her spats with Staffordshire queen KY Kelly.

Miss Congeniality is decided by a secret cast vote and the queens were visibly shocked when RuPaul said Paris had won by a landslide.

At the start of the series, Paris said she had been blocked on social media by some of her competitors, including Flesh, but said they were now "besties".

"Hopefully the world can now see there's a lot more to Paris Baby," she said.

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