Last time Loverboy spoke with the international drag sensation Pangina Heals, she was telling us that everytime she hears Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’, she ‘just remembers orgasming. I’ve definitely had sex to that song all through my life.’ But that was to commemorate the Queen of Pop’s 60th six years ago, the year when Drag Race Thailand launched its debut season, the first franchise outside the US.

A second season aired and since then there has been a brief interlude. A ‘Daydream Interlude’ if you will. For while the show focused on returning, its host Pangina, performed two stints at Drag Race Live, appeared on Uk Vs The World, lip sync assasinated Jimbo on All Stars and filmed her own show Tongue-Thai’d. And that’s just within the Drag Race universe because outside of that she owns her own club in Thailand, The House of Heals, showcasing the very best Thai drag.

But this Wednesday Drag Race Thailand returns to WOW Present Plus with its long-awaited third season with Pangina returning as host and eleven queens ready to fight it out and become Thailand’s Next Drag Superstar. Pangina told us more…

So, Pangina here we are. The Return of Drag Race Thailand. The first international season. The risk takers. How did you feel at the beginning with S1? Like the world was watching?
Not only that the world was watching but I felt a lot of pressure because no one had done it before outside of the US. We were excited also for the world to see what drag was out there besides America. Definitely we wanted to show our language, our culture, our lineage to the world but also there are not a lot of shows in Thailand that actually highlight drag or even how queer people as human beings. A lot of the time we are portrayed as the best friend or the sassy funny one, right? Finally a show comes along that highlights the humanity of what we do and shows us in our community. With S1 we felt like it was the only opportunity we had. So there was a lot of pressure and excitement.

And now returning after so many years. Does it feel like starting again?
I wouldn’t say that because drag has gone all over the world. I feel like we are continuing to show how much we have grown in the community. When you look at drag as an art form, of course there is evolution, I think that is the same with Drag Race Thailand.
I’m tapping into that myself. I have had two experiences of doing Drag Race Live, Tongue Thaied, becoming an All Stars lip syncer and being a guest judge on the Philippines. In S1 and S2 I didn’t know about fashion. I didn’t have as many ideas or a perspective of what drag could be until I went and lived life. Now I have honed my craft. I have been pent up so long, wanting to show the type of host I have always wanted to be.

It feels like you personally have put a lot into getting S3 to happen. Can you talk about that?
I have so many people to thank, it’s not just up to me as a person. There’s WOW to thank, Randy, Fenton especially, the many people who believed in me but also I think all the fans hoped and prayed for it. It’s one of those franchises that people have fallen in love with for being so different from the beginning. I’ve been all over the world and people are watching Drag Race Thailand. I thought that only Thai people watched it because it’s in a different language. The fans wanted it so badly. All the comments I have seen are ‘We’ve won! We’ve won!’ 

How great to see so many people hungry for it.
It is very nice and it’s so different now because WOW are producing it. To be real a lot of comments on the first two seasons were ‘Why is it so different?’ A lot of people loved that, but a lot of people were like, ‘This is crazy, it doesn’t follow the same format.’So I’ll be curious to hear what people think about it this time round. 

How has your experience as a contestant changed your perspective as a judge?
Having gone and competed, I have definitely seen backstage, how production worked. The more you go into filming and the process of it all, you put your heart into the hearts of the people working there. It’s very important to me to treat everyone with kindness, be punctual and all of that. So my work ethic has gone even crazier. You can ask any production person from this season, I was an hour early to everything!

I imagine in selecting the girls, you need some ‘lambs for the slaughter’ in the first few weeks. But by this point were you just like ‘Let’s just get the best’?
Well that is subjective though. Someone’s best might not be someone else’s best. What I thought was that I felt we had a very diverse cast of queens. From girls who have been doing it for thirty years, to a girl who’s been doing it less than a year. The interesting thing is that they’re both in the same competition. I think when you throw people into that kind of setting, you never really know who is going to rise to the ocassion. That’s when I think diamonds are made, under pressure.

I don’t know if you can talk about the girls individually but I’m really excited for the looks of Shortgunn & Nane Sphera, the performance of Spicy Sunshine and just generally the goddess Siam PhuSri.
I think you will continue to be even more surprised as the episodes go on because there are really so many great looks. I’m not saying whom, but someone actually pulled out a look where I said, ‘This is the best look I have seen across three seasons.’ The girls had five years to prepare and really brought it. Although we never knew it was coming back. But a lot of girls just really went in, because this is such a big opportunity. You will see when the show airs that they don’t hold back.

A couple of girls from House of Heals are competing. Did that complicate things for you?
Not at all. Some people are going to be like, ‘Well she’s definitely going to let her girl win.’ Well, may I remind you that on S1, the girl that worked with me, was the first one to go home. Do people really think that out of three seasons, I would put my name and my integrity on the line to be biased for someone else. That doesn’t make sense. That’s not a fair trade off for me. I don’t think I’ve ever been biased. If anything I’m harder on girls I have had experiences with because I know how good they can be. After so many years judging, I feel like I’m the fairest judge, that’s how I see it.

When I spoke to Jiggly about Drag Race Philippines, we talked about how liberal the Philippines was before colonialism came and changed everything. Thailand has never been a colony. Has this saved it from a conservative view on LGBT/Drag?
That’s a really loaded question. I think because Thailand has never been colonised, because we’re like the capital for gender reaffirmation processes, because we’re a tourist country, we’re super friendly. I think in nature we’re very open people when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community. In January next year we will be the second country in Asia to legalise gay marriage. The first was Taiwan, I think in 1996. I’m very happy that it’s finally happened.

We are named after the iconic Mariah track and always ask, what is your favourite Mariah track and why? Also, how do you feel about her post-Snatch Game?! You did a great job!!!
Don’t you do dare do that to me! People might not think that was the best I could do, but for me it was the best that I could do in that moment. I have always been a Mariah stan, even after Snatch Game. Yes, I can’t watch some of the clips of me, but I listen to her on a daily basis. I can’t give you one favourite but it is definitely between ‘Fly Like A Bird’, ‘We Belong Together’, ‘All I Want For Christmas’, ‘I Wish You Only Knew’. I can go on forever…

Drag Race Thailand series 3 is available to watch on WOW Presents Plus worldwide from October 16.
Produced by World of Wonder productions in conjunction with Fullhouse Asia Production Studios.