I'm an islander through and through - Drag Race UK contestant

The glamorous world of drag is a far cry from Chanel O'Connor's home on an island in the west of Scotland.

The 23-year-old drag queen, who hails from the Isle of Bute, is a contestant on this year's series of Ru Paul's Drag Race UK.

"An islander through and through", she promises to bring some "fruity" Scottish flair to the show.

She told BBC Scotland News about her journey from the Isle of Bute to one of the most glamorous shows on television.

"To grow up on an island is such a privilege because you're surrounded by water, you're surrounded by calmness," Chanel said.

"Some people say they have sea legs, well I have island legs.

"I need to be surrounded by water at all times so then I know that I'm safe and protected. There's no means of escape."

Growing up in a small community with a population of less than 7,000 came with its challenges for a child who described themselves as a "little fruity" but she said she felt "protected" by the community.

"It was very much like you know everybody in the village. You know everybody on the island. Everybody knows who you are.

"My mother was the local teacher so she was very much a community leader which meant that a lot of people knew who I was so they kept an eye on me.

"They made sure that I was looked after because I was different."

Attending the island's only high school, she has fond memories of having friends buy her make-up from the town's only make-up shop to begin creating the looks she has mastered today.

Chanel moved to Manchester, and nine years ago dived into the world of drag.

She doesn't shy away from her Scottish roots, with her drag persona claiming to be a flamboyant character often wearing tweed and pearls, claiming to be the "richest woman in Scotland".

She said there will be tartan aplenty and lots of Scottish influence in the costumes created for the show, and hinted that many traditional fabrics and wools she uses come from businesses local to the Isle of Bute and the west coast of Scotland.

The drag queen continued: "I love to celebrate Scottish textiles, that's my favourite thing in the world.

"I'm a seamstress so I have such a love for it, I cannot wait for everyone to see these fabulous outfits.

"I've made some of them so traditionally Scottish it's ridiculous.

"Some of them are so wildly crazy that you could never think of Scotland, let alone this planet."

Not only does Chanel create drag outfits for her own character, she also makes them for other queens - including Glasgow-based Lawrence Chaney.

Chaney who hails from Helensburgh won the second UK series of Drag Race in 2019.

The show's six series have only featured three Scottish representatives - two of whom were originally from Argyll and Bute.

Chanel said she insisted to producers during her audition that is was time for another Scot on the show.

She said: "It's such an important thing through all drag shows that you have inclusion and I think when it's RuPaul's Drag Race UK you need to really include the rest of the UK.

"So it felt like Scotland for a little while was forgot about."

Chanel hopes that the Island of Bute and the whole of Scotland will get behind her as she competes to be named the "crème de la crème" of the UK's drag scene.

She said: "The message I want to put out there to any person who's kind of struggling in Scotland, struggling in the islands or struggling in a small town - it does get better."

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is available now on BBC iPlayer