Bailey J Mills: ‘A bit less perfection and a lot more nonsense’
CultureCulture1 November 2026
AuthorIsabella Pettitt
PhotosCourtesy Nightwig PR
Digital Cover 06: Bailey J Mills on why tacky is more interesting than tasteful, and what British celebrity culture lost along the way.
B
ailey J Mills has spent years being one of the funniest things to pop up on your FYP. And if you haven't come across them yet, I'm almost slightly jealous that you get to discover them for the first time.
Being in the digital world that Bailey's characters have created is honestly so funny. Joining one of their TikTok Lives is an experience in itself, a roll of a dice. One minute they're a Lithuanian actress (if you know, you know), the next they're a hair show contestant. And if you've been watching for as long as I have, then maybe the words Jacqueline Wilson and Stacey Dooley might ring a bell...
Except that's only one version of Bailey. Lately, they've also walked around Frieze London and hosted Troye Sivan's music video release party, which is not a pairing I'd ever have put together, and judging by their reaction, neither would they. "TROYE SIVAN! Why on earth is Bailey J Mills hosting Troye Sivan's party?!" they wrote to me, caps and all.
Below we talk 2000s nostalgia, why tacky is more interesting than tasteful, and whether Bailey still sees themselves as more of a clown than a drag queen.
Your work takes a lot of its inspiration from a massive part of British culture – the 2000s. What is it about this era that you keep coming back to?
Bailey: I think the 2000s were just such a bizarre time to be alive. Everything was a bit tacky, a bit cheap, and nobody seemed particularly bothered about it. The fashion was questionable, the television was absolutely mental, and everyone seemed to be having a lovely time.
I've always loved that very specific kind of British pop culture. The reality TV, the celebrities, the awful outfits, the characters you'd see down your local shopping centre. There was something so wonderfully unserious about it all.
I think that's what I keep coming back to. There was so much character in everything, and I love taking those little bits of nostalgia and turning them into something even more ridiculous.
A lot of things that were considered tacky or unfashionable in the 00s are becoming cool again, both in fashion and on social media. What do you make of seeing that culture come back around, and do you think platforms like TikTok have played a role in rehabilitating these aesthetics?
Bailey: It's hilarious because half the things people are calling fashionable now are things you'd have been absolutely bullied for wearing fifteen years ago.
I've always found the things people consider tacky much more interesting than things that are supposedly tasteful. Give me a terrible handbag, a questionable wig and a pair of enormous sunglasses over something sensible any day.
TikTok has definitely played a part. It's given people a space to appreciate these really niche cultural references and aesthetics that might otherwise have been forgotten. I love that something completely ridiculous from 2006 can suddenly become relevant again.
Although I do think it's very funny watching people spend hundreds of pounds trying to look like they've just come out of a charity shop.
Your costumes have this DIY quality to them, from charity shop finds to cheap wigs and things you've made yourself. How important is this resourcefulness to the way you create your characters?
Bailey: It's a massive part of what I do. I love finding something absolutely hideous and thinking, ‘Oh, I can do something with that.’
Sometimes an entire character can come from one awful item of clothing or a wig that really should have been thrown away years ago. I think there's something much more interesting about making something yourself rather than just buying an entire look.
And I actually like things looking a little bit wrong. That's part of the charm. Not everything needs to be perfectly fitted, beautifully styled and covered in rhinestones.
Sometimes all you need is a bit of imagination, a terrible dress and the confidence to go outside looking absolutely insane.
Do you think working with a limited budget or using whatever you can find actually pushes your creativity in ways that having more resources might not?
Bailey: Definitely. I think having limitations forces you to be a bit more inventive.
If you've got an unlimited budget, you can just buy whatever you want. But when you're working with whatever you've got lying around, you have to actually think about how to make something work. Some of the funniest ideas come from things going completely wrong or not having the right materials. You end up creating something you never would have thought of otherwise.
Obviously, if someone wants to give me an enormous budget, I'm not going to turn it down. I'd love to see what sort of monstrosity I could create with a few thousand pounds behind me.
You've previously spoken about feeling pressured by modern beauty standards within drag and deciding that, if you came back to it, you were going to do it your own way. Thinking about where you are now and how society has changed, do you still think there's too much pressure for drag to look polished and glamorous?
Bailey: I think there's definitely still a lot of pressure, especially with social media, where everything is so focused on looking perfect.
There's obviously nothing wrong with beautiful, glamorous drag. Some performers are absolutely incredible at it. But I don't think that should be the only thing we're celebrating.
Drag can be ugly, ridiculous, funny, uncomfortable, completely bizarre — that's what makes it exciting. I think sometimes people forget that it's an art form and not a beauty competition.
For me, the most important thing is being able to create something that feels authentic to what I want to do, rather than worrying about whether I look pretty enough doing it.
Your characters often feel very specifically British. When you’re creating someone new, where do you normally start, and does it ever come from people you’ve encountered? How much do British ideas of class and “taste” influence your work?
Bailey: I think Britain is just full of absolutely fascinating people. You can walk into any town centre on a Tuesday afternoon and see about fifteen different characters without even trying.
I'm really interested in those tiny details that make somebody instantly recognisable. The way they speak, the clothes they wear, the way they stand, or the sort of handbag they'd carry. Class and taste definitely come into it because British people are obsessed with both, whether they admit it or not. I love playing around with what people think is posh, common, glamorous or embarrassing.
And talking of that, I mean, what the actual hell was Bailey J Mills doing at Frieze London?!
I was recently at Frieze Art Fair, walking around looking at artwork worth hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds, surrounded by all these people, chatting to them about art and trying to act like this was a perfectly normal thing for me to be doing.
It was absolutely surreal. Genuinely one of the wildest things I've ever done, and probably one of the most uncomfortable environments I've ever found myself in. But at the same time, it was incredible! I'm so grateful to everyone who made that happen, and hopefully you've all seen the absolute madness on social media by now.
I think that's what I find so fascinating about British culture. One minute you're rummaging around a charity shop looking for a ridiculous outfit, and the next you're standing next to a piece of art worth more than a house. I absolutely love that.
You've described yourself as more of a clown than a drag queen before. Do you still see yourself that way, or has your relationship with drag changed as your career has grown?
Bailey: I still think I'm much more of a clown than anything else. I just happen to wear wigs while I'm doing it.
I'm by no means Jimbo the Drag Clown, but I'm definitely clowny in my own little way!
I've never been particularly interested in being the most glamorous person in the room. I find it much more exciting to make people laugh or create something that makes them stop and think, ‘What on earth am I looking at?’
As my career has grown, I've realised that drag doesn't have to fit into one particular category. It can be comedy, performance art, character work, fashion, or a complete load of nonsense.
I think I've become much more comfortable with doing things my own way. I don't really know what I'm doing half the time, but somehow it seems to be working, so I'm just going to keep doing it!
Is there a character, costume, or video you've created that you think sums up Bailey J Mills better than anything else?
Bailey: That's such a difficult question because I think every character represents a different part of my brain, which is probably quite worrying.
But actually, I think one of the funniest things about what I do is that more often than not, I'm not necessarily trying to recreate somebody else's character.
I just come up with these completely ludicrous things to do or say, somebody catches them on camera, and suddenly they're all over the internet! Look at 'THATTT MOVIE', for example. That went viral, and now people all over the place reference it and immediately associate it with Bailey J Mills. I never in a million years expected that to happen, but I think it's absolutely iconic.
I love that people have taken something so ridiculous and made it into this little cultural reference. The fact that people enjoy it and find it funny makes me so happy.
There are people who are absolutely phenomenal at impersonations and recreating other characters, but I seem to have accidentally become my own character, and I absolutely love that.
If you could bring back one thing from 00s British culture that has completely
disappeared, what would it be?
Bailey: I think I'd bring back the complete lack of shame in British celebrity culture.
The outfits, the reality television, the ridiculous magazine interviews. Everything felt so much more chaotic, and I absolutely loved it.
Everyone takes themselves so seriously now. I'd love to bring back a time when somebody could turn up to a red carpet dressed like a complete disaster and it would be the most exciting thing you'd seen all week.
We need a bit more of that energy back. A bit less perfection and a lot more nonsense.
What's next for you? Is there anything you're working on at the moment that
you're particularly excited about?
Bailey: Do you know what? This last year has been absolutely insane. Particularly towards the end of 2026, I've been so incredibly fortunate to do some things I never, ever imagined I'd get the opportunity to do. I've met some phenomenal people, been invited into the most ridiculous situations, and honestly, half the time I'm still questioning why on earth I'm there!
I mean, I was fortunate enough to host Troye Sivan's music video release party in London. TROYE SIVAN! Why on earth is Bailey J Mills hosting Troye Sivan's party?!
It's just absolutely incredible. And obviously, Troye is such a huge figure within LGBTQ+ culture, so to even be invited into that world and have the opportunity to be involved in something like that is genuinely quite special to me.
I don't necessarily sit there thinking of myself as some sort of LGBTQ+ icon, but if people see me as part of that world, alongside artists and performers who have made such an impact, then that's absolutely incredible. It means a lot.
And that's not even the half of it! I've also been filming some really exciting projects over the last few weeks, including appearances in music videos for some absolutely phenomenal recording artists, which you'll hopefully get to see in 2027. I can't say too much about those just yet, but I'm so excited for people to see what we've been working on.
Then there's things like Frieze London, which I genuinely still can't quite get my head around. I mean, what a bizarre and wonderful experience that was!
Looking ahead, I'm really hoping 2027 is going to be a huge year for Bailey J Mills. I'd absolutely love to get back out on tour and show people even more of what I can do, create some new things and continue getting involved in these incredible projects with musicians, artists, celebrities and performers.
I feel like so many doors have opened recently, and I just want to keep walking through them and seeing where on earth I end up. I don't think I'll ever stop finding it all a bit ridiculous, but that's probably the best part.
And if somebody wants to give me my own television show while we're at it, that would be lovely. Thank you very much!
For bookings, appearances and enquiries regarding Bailey J Mills, contact NIGHTWIG at bookings@nightwig.co.uk.
Instagram: @nightwig_official
