Miles Pullman, a 13-year-old schoolboy from Broadstairs, will take to the stage at Canterbury Pride this weekend, one year on from his debut performance as 'Miss Oatie T'.

As Kent's youngest drag queen, Miss Oatie T wowed the crowds in Dane John Gardens last year and impressed industry bosses so much that they've invited her back to showcase her talents again.

Miles Pullman believes there should be more opportunities and safe spaces for young drag artists

Miles first stepped outside of his home in full drag last summer and quickly caught the eye of promoters and local bar managers like Duncan Bayles at Sundowners in Margate and Stephen Sullivan from Glitterbomb.

The performance in Dane John Gardens last year was her first professional booking - she performed alongside RuPaul's Drag Race icons Baga Chipz and Cheryl Hole.

Following her debut, Miss Oatie T shot to stardom, appearing in national newspapers and was interviewed live on the Channel 4 show Steph's Packed Lunch.

Stephen was so impressed with the reaction last year that he has booked Miss Oatie T for a second time at Canterbury Pride, giving her a solo slot at 2:30pm.

Now, a year on, Miss Oatie T very much has the same goals for the future - to work in Primark by day and perform in drag every night.

Miles said: "I go to dance lessons every week and I also practise my make-up skills, but mostly I've been working on dancing in heels."

Last year, Miss Oatie T was doing kicks, splits and death drops in a pair of chunky white trainers, but now as a teenager, she wants to level up her performance with a pair of stilettos.

Miles added: "I've had a couple of lessons with Ryan Abbott, he's going to be there to watch me this year at Canterbury Pride.

"I think doing those lessons with him has made it easier for me to dance in the heels."

Miles shared that his friends, peers and teachers at The Charles Dickens School are all really supportive and accepting, but his parents were the ones who received nasty comments.

His mum, Nicola, explained: "It's part and parcel and you have to take the good with the bad - Miles was left alone and that was absolutely fine.

"Half the comments on articles were just saying that I'm 'spoiling' Miles.

"I just don't read them now - it doesn't harm you, it doesn't affect you so I just switch it off.

"It's like putting your child into a big dance competition, putting him up on stage at Pride is no different, it's just small-minded people out to be a bit nasty at times."

Miles performing at Canterbury Pride 2021

Already a year into his drag career, Miles has struggled to find venues to perform at, with many queer spaces being strictly 18-plus bars and nightclubs.

He said: "I think lots of bars and venues should start letting younger drag artists perform because then they can start developing their drag persona.

"That way they could just really be themselves and have a safe space to perform and be who they want to be."

With a star studded line-up planned for the main stage, Miles say he is most excited to meet Anubis from the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK.

He also shared that Canterbury Pride is just the beginning, and Miss Oatie T has also been booked for Dover Pride on Saturday, August 27.