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Bimini Bon Boulash: Homecoming Queen

Celebrity drag queen Bimini Bon Boulash returns to their childhood hometown of Great Yarmouth on a nostalgic journey, exploring a story of success and self-discovery.

Drag queen Bimini Bon Boulash rose to fame on series two of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. They didn’t win the drag competition but have since been strutting the catwalk at London fashion week, publishing an autobiography, posing for high-profile photo shoots and launching a music career. But the journey to success as an artist and LBGTQ+ icon has humble roots.

Bimini goes on a trip down memory lane recalling childhood days in Great Yarmouth, starting at their mum’s hair salon and taking in iconic venues such as St George’s Theatre, The Hippodrome Circus and The Empire. Along the way, Bimini meets the people and relives the events that have helped shape their identity and career. There’s fun and laughter with family and old friends but also poignant introspection as Bimini recounts the difficulties of growing up when social attitudes to LGBTQ+ issues and gender were vastly different to that of today.

Bimini was born in 1993, when 64 per cent of British people took the view that same-sex relationships were wrong. The negative attitudes to homosexuality and strict social gender roles of Bimini’s youth led to bullying, which forced them give up the things they loved – acting and dancing. Bimini moved to London aged 18 to explore the LGBTQ+ scene and to lead an authentic life. It was a move that allowed Bimini to discover drag and their non-binary identity. Eventually, it led to Bimini being cast on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.

Back in Great Yarmouth, Bimini explores how the local gay scene has changed over the years, which leads Bimini to undertake their most nerve-racking project to date – performing in drag, in their hometown, for the first time.

29 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Executive Producer Nisha Lilia Diu
Executive Producer Sarah Trigg
Commissioning Editor Aisling O'Connor
Director David Terry

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