SHE'S rude, blunt and brazen – but Simon Merry is nothing like his alter ego, drag artist Pricilla.

"I feel like I'm a different person when I'm Pricilla. It's a mask, a new identity," he said. "My inhibitions just fly away and I can flirt with people and have a laugh and a joke. I'm not half as bad as I am when I'm Pricilla."

He's got a big heart, too, exemplified by his plans to use the Pricilla persona to help raise funds for "Help For Heroes" with a variety night. The charity became close to Simon's heart after one of his friends was seriously injured in battle, losing a leg.

"I was in tears when he told me what had happened," said Simon. "But he was just so brave about it.

"I would like to do something to raise some money for the cause if only to show that we as a country and as a people support them."
Anyone who would like to be included in the line-up at a variety evening or would like to discuss the plans can contact Simon through the Echo.

Forty-year-old Simon has been performing as a drag artist for 15 years in pubs and clubs all over the country. He is a favourite at the Black Bull in the town centre and at bars in Huddersfield and Bradford.

"Pricilla gets away with murder," he said. She is rude and as politically incorrect as it's possible to be but the punters lap it up especially when one of their mates comes in for a bit of stick.

"I don't set out to offend people and if I feel I have I will go and speak to them and reassure them that it is nothing personal.

"Even though the character is very blunt it's only an act and I am sure people realise this and I am targeting them only as a bit of fun."
On one occasion Pricilla told a girl who had been out for the last three Saturdays wearing the same dress that it didn't suit her and wasn't it time for a change. Pricilla went as far as taking down a mirror from the wall and showing her the reflection.

"She took it in good spirits and was back at the pub the following week in a different outfit and she looked absolutely smashing. We both had a good laugh about it."

Simon's day job is as a care assistant at Rastrick Grange residential home and says his job is a far cry from his work as an entertainer.
"I love my residents and care for every single one," he said. "Pricilla lives in a box when I'm working and only comes out when it's time to entertain."

The former bus driver who lives at Whinney Hill Park, Brighouse, enjoys playing Pricilla. "Every single minute. It's fabulous fun."

He started performing at the Royal Oak in Rastrick doing the occasional event "as a bit of a laugh" and dressing up for parties. Soon Pricilla was in big demand.

"The first proper show I did went all right but I was nervous because I had never put on a solo performance before. It wasn't the best but you have got to start somewhere."

He has gone on to host the Pink Picnic in Huddersfield and has taken part in Manchester Pride events.

Simon takes his role as a drag artist seriously and aims to catch the eye with his stunning outfits, many of which are bought in from Thailand.

Since the early days in a pub lounge he has spread his wings and appeared at venues around the country. One of his ambitions is to appear at Funny Girls, the drag artists' mecca in Blackpool.

"I'm sure Pricilla would go down well there. She speaks her mind and says things most people would love to say but don't get the chance or can't pluck up enough courage. I have a sense of humour but I wouldn't get away with the things Pricilla says and does in what shall I call it, my real life."

You certainly wouldn't want to experience the rough edge of Pricilla's wicked tongue. "I have been known to have a go at the way people are dressed or the way they dance. How far I go depends on the audience.

"You certainly cannot pick on one or two people. You need to spread it around a bit. Otherwise it can be hurtful and then it stops being funny."
Simon, who is not in a relationship, gets a lot of support from friends while two members of his family are divided.

"My sister Julie is behind me. I don't think my sister Joanne is very keen but she lets me get on with it!"

So why Pricilla and why no 's' in the middle? Simon's favourite film is 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert', a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film about three drag artists (two gay men and a transsexual woman) who travel across the Australian outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a coach they have named Priscilla.

"As I'm a drag artist and a former bus driver it seemed the obvious choice for a stage name. I dropped the 's' to be different. And, as I have had the name spelled out as 'Pricilla' in a tattoo on my arm then the name is here to stay!"