RuPaul's Drag Race's Ella Vaday: 'I was so body conscious - I've learnt to accept myself'

ok.co.uk:

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star Ella Vaday - also known as Nick Collier - won over the audience of series 3 of the hit show with her sharp tongue and witty one-liners.

Oozing confidence on and off screen, she finished runner-up but was arguably the viewer's choice for the top spot. Speaking exclusively to OK!, Nick, 35, reveals it has taken him a long time to accept himself and says he's never looked of felt better.The pair recently appeared in ITV1's festive The Real Full Monty: Jingle Balls, baring all in the name of charity, and Ella's incredible performance of "It All Starts With A Squeeze" - with Coleen Nolan and Sherrie Hewson as backing dancers - proved they had well and truly found their groove.

Quick-witted Ella is a fairly new addition to Nick’s life, emerging after Nick left a successful West End stage career, appearing in the hit shows The Book Of Mormon and Wicked. “I’ve only been doing drag properly since 2019,” says Nick, who previously topped up his salary by setting up a dog walking business. “When I left the West End, I thought, ‘I’m going to try and make some money on the side.

Rather than dogs, I thought, ‘Why not put a wig on my head and try to get paid a bit more?’” While Ella showed no fear in the face of the judges on the UK version of RuPaul's hit show, Nick says it's taken him time to be happy with the person he is. "I was so body conscious in high school,” he admits, adding that he only came out aged around 20. "Then when I went to college in London at 16, I was surrounded by people to stare at and judge myself against.