This weekend, Radio 2 In The Park brought a variety of famous faces to Stirling. Among those who brought the hits to this historical city was the iconic Michelle Visage. Known for her role on various productions of Drag Race, Michelle now hosts a weekly show on Radio 2, broadcasting some classic dance floor tunes.
Sitting across from me, next to her daughter Lola, is Michelle; I don’t think that anyone else will be able to pull off the Radio 2 in the Park hoodie as well as she did.
After a brief chat about Brig, the University of Stirling and England (she noticed the accent immediately), we moved on to the questions.
“I’ll start with Stirling. You were here yesterday as well. Have you had a chance to look around Stirling at all?”
“No I haven’t! I went from the train station in Glasgow to Stirling, but from what I’ve seen, I kept my eyes open, and it is absolutely beautiful. You must love it!
“The castle’s amazing! I’m gonna make a plea to the government of Stirling that they need more lights at night, because that one purple section is not enough. That whole thing needs to be lit up beautifully with different colours.
“It’s spooky, and I like that, but I think it should have more colours. Or, at least, light it up. It should be lit up every night.”
“You’ll have to make a petition”
“There you go, I just did!”
“You also had your ‘Fabulous Divas’ show for Radio 2. Is there anyone today who you would absolutely love to go on the Fabulous Divas Show?”
“Yes, that’s how it all started!
“I mean, if they were going to do ‘Fabulous Divas’ and take my place? Because we turned ‘Fabulous Divas’ into ‘Fabulous Fridays’, obviously, because that was me when I filled in for Rylan, I believe. Or I did that before, and then I filled in for Rylan.
“So to DJ it, I don’t know! I feel like maybe one of our Queens could do that; it’d be really fun… Maybe La Voix, or somebody that likes to be broadcasty like me.”
“Speaking of La Voix, obviously she was on Strictly last year”
“Yes! She did so good!”
“And you also did Strictly, and you had Big Brother as well…”
“I did. I did Celebrity Big Brother in 2015.”
“Are there any other reality TV shows that you’d like to make an appearance on?”
“Do you know Tess, the truth of the matter is, I don’t love being a contestant.
“I did Strictly because I always wanted to learn how to ballroom dance – I’ve been obsessed with it for years, and I thought ‘Strictly is the best one out of all the countries. It’s the original, it’s the best one’, so that’s why I wanted to do it. I did it.
“Celebrity Big Brother, I did that for one reason and, truth be told, that was to get a Drag Race commission. It took, I think, four years after that, but we got it done. So that’s why that happened.
“But maybe The Traitors, I don’t know, question mark. I don’t know!
“Every time I’ve talked to them, it’s about timing, so maybe! Maybe if the timing works out, that could be great fun.”
Finally, we do have a section of our newspaper, which is a little magazine called BRAW, it’s all about Queer culture. So I was wondering if you have any advice for young people who are coming to terms with their Queerness or struggling with their identity?
“Oh I have a lot of advice, but I think the best advice would be: it is a tough world out there in general.
“Try not to be so hard on yourself, coming out is an individual experience. If you’re ready to do it, make sure it’s a safe space. If it’s not, then don’t push it. Get into a safe space before you can be authentically yourself.
“Life is short. Life is beautiful. You matter.
“Live your life as yourself, as best as you can. And do it loud and proud, but always be safe.”
Want to continue reading about Radio 2 In The Park Stirling? You can find more of Brig‘s coverage here.
