BenDeLaCreme has discovered that the late Dame Maggie Smith reportedly saw her Snatch Game performance from RuPaul’s Drag Race before the icon’s death. 

Fans across the world were saddened to learn of Smith’s passing, who died “peacefully” at the age of 89. The actress was best known for starring as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise and Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey, and died on Friday 27 September, her family confirmed.

Drag Race viewers will also recall the time she was honoured by contestant BenDeLaCreme during the drag artist’s immaculate Snatch Game performance. In season six of the series, BenDeLaCreme delivered an incredible rendition of the since-passed actress, which cemented the star in Drag Race herstory. 

She went up against stellar competition in Bianca Del Rio and Adore Delano as Judge Judy and Anna Nicole Smith, respectively. But it was BenDeLaCreme’s version of Smith which captured the hearts of the judges and fans. 

The drag performer took to Instagram on 29 September to pay tribute to Smith’s legacy. BenDeLaCreme wrote: “It wasn’t until late yesterday that I got the news of Maggie Smith’s passing, and when I did it was in the form of one million texts and DMs. To be associated with this legend (through no fault of her own) is an honour.

“Thank you to this incredible woman for an incredible legacy and [for] allowing me [to] ride her coattails with ne’er a cease nor desist. RIP to an icon in the actual, literal, historical sense,” wrote the star.