tvA beard that had to be removed irrevocably, a debut that gave way to past sorrows and a face that was unanimously recognized. ‘Make Up Your Mind’ also turned out to be an interesting adventure for Francesco Planckaert, Christoff and Maarten Vancoillie. But how do the three showbiz figures themselves look back on their short career as drag queens? “My wife laughed the first time I wore stilettos.”
Edina Woodward: “One time without a beard was enough”
He was the first to give up in ‘Special Forces: Who Dares Wins’, and here too the passage of Francesco Planckaert (41) was short-lived. “It’s a shame that I couldn’t show off more as a drag queen, but I had an incredible time,” he said. “When I told my family I was considering this, they immediately thought I should do it. I had seen Vanessa Van Cartier at work before, but otherwise I was not really familiar with the phenomenon. Fortunately, my wife Magali was enthusiastic for both of us. It wasn’t until I saw my footwear for the first time that I knew why she was really happy. I’ve commented on her so many times in the past when she wore heels. “Come on, move on a bit,” I would say. Magali had a laugh when I wore stilettos for the first time. Karma, I know. When I practiced for the first time, my calves started to hurt after just one minute.”
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“I say this with a joke, but the message I convey with this is extremely important,” Francesco continues. “When I read again that people suffer because of who they are, it touches me to my core. I really want my three children to grow up in a better world. Maybe it’s naive, but I hope Edina can do her part. And it would also be nice if the rest of the family wasn’t too angry that I kept my new ‘career’ hidden from them. On Friday evening I performed at the production party of ‘De Planckaerts’, and they were able to see me at work straight away. This time with a beard. One shave was enough. (laughs)”
Madonna Starling: “Those fake nails were terrible”
A religious star, loaded with gold: it turned out that Christoff (47) was hidden behind Madonna Starling. “For me, ‘Make Up Your Mind’ was an opportunity to put an end to my past,” says the singer. “As a teenager, I was bullied a lot because of my orientation, and I did everything I could to hide the fact that I was attracted to men. And now suddenly it wasn’t allowed to be feminine enough. That’s why I had a hard time during my exit: I didn’t want to start crying, but a lot was going through my mind at that moment. I hope that through my participation I can help people and that they can experience the freedom to be themselves. No one has to tell you who to be or how to behave. Do you want to be flamboyant? Then do that. The world can only become more beautiful. By the way, I am very happy that Sammy Mahdi won: he shows that there is nothing wrong with a straight man who embraces his feminine side.”
As a drag queen, Christoff – who said he was nervous – mainly struggled with secrecy… and his outfit. “I had comfortable heels, so unlike some candidates, that wasn’t a problem for me,” he says. “I especially found it difficult that we had to walk around in our outfits for twelve hours during the recording. My waist was constricted, and after a while my diaphragm hurt like hell. I didn’t even dare to take off my shoes, for fear that my feet would swell too much and I wouldn’t be able to wear those heels again. But I cursed the most on those fake nails. Wow, I thought that was terrible. You really couldn’t do anything with that. (laughs) And my costume didn’t make me very happy either. I wanted to feel sexy as a drag queen, but with my dress I felt – unfortunately – more like a pregnant giraffe. In the end the dresser adjusted my skirt a little. Just write it down: if I do this again, I’ll steal Maarten’s look. (laughs)”
Doris Daybreak: “My mouth is too recognizable”
The red queen could easily claim victory, but unfortunately: Qmusic DJ Maarten Vancoillie (35) had to lose out to Sammy Mahdi in the final. “I like to do crazy things and I don’t like to lose, but I couldn’t compete with Cindy Envy,” laughs Maarten. “Although that wasn’t necessary: we were all there to convey an important message. We live in a country where drag queens are allowed to perform. This is not the case in many places in the world.”
He is very pleased that the radio star was given the sexiest look – and was even compared to Paris Hilton. “I saw Paris at Tomorrowland, and she really is a beautiful woman,” he says. “The fact that I looked just a little bit like that is entirely the credit of my make-up artist. People say that they think I am a very beautiful woman, but that I was also extremely recognizable at the same time. So I wonder what that says about me. (laughs) No no, just kidding. I know it’s because of my mouth: it’s too recognizable. When Doris Daybreak was introduced to Flanders earlier this week, several people immediately noticed – no matter how many times I denied it.”
During ‘Make Up Your Mind’ the choreography was the biggest challenge for Maarten. “I really struggled with that,” he says. “In retrospect, there was no need for that, because no one knew which steps I would take. I should have practiced more on those heels, because they didn’t look good. In my head I was extremely elegant, but that was disappointing when I looked at the images. And I should have kept quiet about my breasts. When I first saw my look, I joked that it could be a little bigger. But when I got those silicone ones… What was that. They weighed so much. Not normal. (laughs)”
On Sunday at 8:30 PM, the famous queens will show on VTM how they experienced the adventure behind the scenes during ‘Make Up Your Mind: The Story of the Queens’.
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2023-09-10 06:00:22
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