‘Drag saved me’ says Kyran Thrax on finding confidence after being groomed

“It sounds so cliché,” says performer Kyran Peet, “but drag has saved me.”

Kyran – who uses they/them pronouns – proudly performed their first show as drag persona Kyran Thrax in 2019, surrounded by friends at an open mic night in Vauxhall, London.

But, as the drag artist explains, the Kyran Thrax persona was not born that night: “This part of me, I feel, has been with me since everything happened when I was 13.”

As a teenager, Kyran fondly remembers going to school wearing platform shoes, black eyeliner and backcombed purple hair with “the most orange foundation,” which they say felt like an early expression of their drag persona.

Kyran, 26, is now proud of being confident and uplifting others through drag, but says “it did start as a defence mechanism, because it was a way for me to try and survive”.

At the age of 13, Kyran had just come out as gay and had started talking to a 23-year-old man, who claimed to be a teenager, after meeting on social media.

“I convinced myself I was ready to have a romantic relationship, which is just ridiculous,” Kyran says, adding that the pair met up and had a seven month-long emotional and sexual relationship.

“It was horrible,” Kyran adds, “I gave this man everything, all of my childhood.”

Grooming is when someone forms a relationship with a vulnerable person, so they can abuse and manipulate them. The abuse is typically sexual or financial.

Kyran – who has waived their legal right to anonymity to talk about the experience – eventually confided in their mother and together they spoke to the police. Kyran was still in secondary school when they pursued legal action against the groomer.

“It’s a very strange experience in general, to be at school whilst that’s happening, because obviously everyone’s talking about everything,” Kyran says.

Kyran’s abuser eventually admitted sexual activity with a child and went to prison.

Kyran is not alone in their experience. A recent report from the NSPCC, found more than 7,000 Sexual Communication with a Child offences were recorded across the UK in the year to March 2024.

Richard Collard, associate head of policy and public affairs at the NSPCC, which runs Childline, says grooming can have “long-lasting effects” on children.

“It can often lead to self-harm, eating disorders and can be something that actually impacts the rest of their life.”

Following their experience being groomed, Kyran says “it was really hard, I hated myself, I really, really did.

“A way for me to try and survive was to convince myself that I did love myself,” Kyran adds, explaining that saying daily affirmations and exploring drag became a way to rebuild confidence.

During this difficult time in their life, Kyran says: “I think [my drag persona, Kyran Thrax] was there, I think she’s always been an expression for me.”

Kyran continued to develop their drag act at university, where they studied drama.

With the encouragement of friends, Kyran began performing on stage and by graduation they were “a full-time drag queen”.

Now Kyran is taking part in the latest series of BBC series RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Kyran says watching themselves on screen felt like a dream.

In episode five, Kyran tells fellow queen La Voix about their experience being groomed.

“It’s a topic that I feel is still so taboo, so many people shy away from talking about it,” Kyran says.

Sharing their excitement for what the future holds, Kyran hopes their drag can “provide fun, surreal experiences where people can come and they can forget about their problems and just have that escapism.

“I feel like that’s why I’m here, is to perform.”

If you, or someone you know, have been affected by child sexual abuse, BBC Action Line has details of organisations that may be able to help.