RuPaul's Drag Race stars Etcetera Etcetera aka Oliver Levi-Malouf

The popular show on Stan features a little - actually she's a lot - of homegrown drag queen Etcetera Etcetera.

"You can't kill a cockroach," she declares making her debut in episode one.

Etcetera Etcetera is the "very, very beautiful but a little bit filthy" drag character of Levi-Malouf, who achieved Daramalan's top ATAR before moving to Sydney in 2015.

The 22 year-old is the youngest of 10 drag queens from Australia and New Zealand competing for the crown in the currently streaming reality-television series.

A spin-off the long-running game show from the United States, RuPaul Down Under has drag queens compete for a cash prize of $30,000.

And age, it seems, won't be a barrier.

"At the end of the day I don't really care," Levi-Malouf said.

"I'm in it to win it and I'm not going to let some old man in a dress get in my way."

As means of introduction on episode one, Etcetera Etcetera describes herself as a glamour bug "kind of like the 50s and 60 golden era of Hollywood on crack".

The first episode sees Etcetera Etcetera take to the runway in an outfit meant to represent her hometown.

In a dress more designer than drag, she represents the Canberra streets with diamante boning on her corset.

"I'm pointing to the Parliamentary triangle, whether or not they know what that is, the people in Canberra will know," Etcetera Etcetera said.

Prior to becoming a beautiful bug, Levi-Malouf was a high-achieving young artist and short-film producer living in Hackett.

Levi-Malouf said growing up queer in Canberra was a launch pad for becoming a future drag performer.

"My journey in Canberra was nothing but supportive. When I was younger I did a lot of short films and was involved in the theatre community and I had nothing but support," Levi-Malouf said.

"The drag scene that has sprouted in Canberra in the last four or five years is so, so great.

"Every time I come down it's just a joy to be able to walk into spaces and feels like there's a little family down in Canberra."

Levi-Malouf discovered drag as a means for self expression and a way to pay the bills, while studying at Sydney's Australian Film, Television and Radio School.

Now the media and marketing manager for The Imperial in Erskineville, Levi-Malouf has been hosting a weekly screening of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under since the first episode aired on May 1.

"I watch it when it comes out with everyone in the venue and react alongside them and watch it in my own personal, private time and get to enjoy it," she said.

"You look at everything you did and go 'it did look good then' or 'oh I looked like shit then'."

Etcetera Etcetera said while the girls may get along just fine when the cameras aren't rolling, the high-drama, catty competition is exactly as it seems.

"We're drag queens, we're entertainers, it's what we do all the time.

"We put on dresses, we put on wigs and makeup and we step into characters and entertain people.

"When you're put into a high-stakes competition and the producers are giving you little bits and pieces to run at and go off it becomes like a game and we're all playing that game to win."

READ MORE:

Levi-Malouf said RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under isn't progressive TV, it's Australian TV.

"Drag has always been part of Australian entertainment, look at Barry Humphries doing Dame Edna or you look at Aunty Jack they go decades back," Levi-Malouf said.

"Drag culture is inherently Australian and anyone who thinks it's not appropriate for TV they need to go and take a good hard long look at themselves."

Episode four is out this week.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: