The show that has the nation chanting “take it off!” is back, as The Masked Singer returned to ITV1, ITVX and STV tonight, with a new host of famous faces.
We hear from the hit TV shows panel, television presenter Davina McCall, broadcaster Jonathan Ross, singer Rita Ora and comedian Mo Mo Gilligan, who have been tasked to guess the celebrity behind the mask.
Davina McCall
When you signed up to The Masked Singer, did you have any idea how emotional you’d be watching people dressed in funny costumes, singing their hearts out?
“I think there’s so many emotional aspects to this show that I wasn’t really prepared for! I knew it was going to be fun and I knew it was going to be a bit ridiculous, but I hadn’t factored in what it feels like to watch little kids in the studio and seeing how invested they are.
“Also, I hadn’t factored in what it might mean to the singers. So for lots of singers, it’s overcoming a huge fear that they’ve had. It might be doing something for their kids that they wanted to surprise them with. It might be just for the hell of it. And also how weirdly emotional it can be. This series Weather is an interesting character because they have such a beautiful costume and then an unmistakable voice.”
You won a BAFTA last year, what do you think that says about the series?
“It always swings hugely from being sublimely ridiculous to really stunning and magical. There’s a million reasons why I believe it deserves a BAFTA, because if you haven’t watched it, you’d think, “Oh, that’s just a ridiculous show”, but it’s so much more than that. There’s so many aspects. There’s the entertainment aspect. There’s the quiz aspect. There’s the bit where you can take part in it at home alongside everybody else. It’s massive online because everybody’s going, “No, I think it’s this person. No, actually this person.”
“We’ve gone next level with the clues this year and they really are disguising their voices. Joel’s on the best form ever. His links are so funny. It’s different from any other big shiny floor entertainment show because you are not voting somebody off, the audience chooses who are in the bottom two, and they choose who are in the bottom two generally out of a mixture of talent and fun.”
How have you prepared for this series?
“Do you know what? I’ve been looking through all the celebrity magazines to see who’s around at the moment. I’ve been doing my homework!”
You made Masked Singer history last year with the most amount of correct guesses, what’s your secret and are you feeling the pressure this year?
“I have no secret, because it’s gone this year! I might be a one hit wonder! I don’t like it when I know 100% who it is. It actually takes the fun out of it for me. It’s much more enjoyable when you think, “do you know what? I think it’s this person, but I’m probably wrong”.
Jonathan Ross
So we’re back for series 5…
“It’s great to be back on The Masked Singer and I can’t wait for everyone to see it because it really is a great series. There’s something for everyone!”
The show won a BAFTA, what do you think that says about the show?
“We know the show is popular, because of course we know it gets big viewing figures, but I think maybe it just reflects the fact that people do love the big, silly spectacle of it all.
“The format is such a strong, such a strange and a unique one and I think that’s what people are responding to. It’s fun, silly, doesn’t take itself seriously, it’s beautifully made and always looks spectacular. There’s some really good reveals every week. So I think it won the award because people are responding to the fact that it’s a really different show and it’s really lovely. So much work goes into making it as good as possible.
Do you do any preparation before the show starts?
“Yes! I write a big long list of people who I think, conceivably, either UK celebrities or Americans or people who are in the UK who might do the show and I make another list of people who I think absolutely wouldn’t do it, because on the one hand you never know, and on the other hand it is good to guess an outrageous name. Then I’ll do a list of comedy guesses just so I’ve got kind of lots of names at my fingertips.
“My best guess this year is Ryan Reynolds. He’s in Wrexham a lot of the time now. You never know. I mean, he’s up for a laugh!
What do you make of the costumes this year?
“I love all of them. I really loved Weather. I thought that was a really beautiful, quite romantic, quite poetic looking costume. I liked Piranha a lot. They’re fun, I have to say. Bubble Tea is great. Well, Bubble Tea and Air Fryer make the show very, very modern, don’t they? There’s a couple of phrases that weren’t in common conversation two or three years ago, and now we’ve got them dancing on primetime ITV1!”
Rita Ora
How excited are you to be back with the Masked Singer gang?
“It’s amazing to be back. I love being with everyone, we have so much fun together.”
Do you think everybody’s bringing their ‘A’ game in terms of singing?
“The voices are the best I’ve ever heard, and the personalities are so amazing. It’s super versatile. It just gets better. When you’re coming on this show, this is a BAFTA winning show! It’s a really amazing kind of family show.”
You’ve been working on the US version of the show as well, what’s that been like?
“I have missed three episodes and I hate missing this show. It’s one of my favourite things to do, I love the panel, I love having this job and I love doing this show. I’ve come back with better detective skills, I’d like to think. We’ll see how good they are but I am very grateful and happy to be back. These guys are like family.”
How would you say the talent over here compares to what you saw in the US?
“Oh my gosh, it’s completely different. Of course the talent for me, I’m biased, because this is my home, it’s fantastic. This show in general, the format is just so insane. So, wherever you go in the world, it’s kind of the same energy, to be honest, because the show is just that crazy and the costumes are just as crazy as well.”
Mo Gilligan
Are you enjoying being back with the Masked Singer gang?
“It’s good to be back on a new series. I think that’s the cool thing about doing The Masked Singer, it never feels the same. You are always second guessing who might be taking part. Is it someone I just spoke to recently? Is it someone I’ve grown up watching and idolising? Or is it just someone where I’m just going to be gobsmacked and shocked? It’s the one thing I do each year that just never feels the same, which is just fantastic.”
The show won a BAFTA, what do you think that says about The Masked Singer?
“I think it’s amazing. The Masked Singer has its place amongst Saturday night TV with this award behind it, it’s just incredible. I meet people or friends of mine who have kids and they have so many questions for me, they love it, can’t get enough of it. It’s nice that people ask me questions like, “Do you really not know who it is?” And I meet a lot of taxi drivers and they’re always asking me who people are.
“The way it’s captured the nation’s imagination is really cool. So to have a BAFTA award, we’re up there with the Saturday night greats.”
What do you make of the costumes in this series?
“I love the costumes! It’s something I really look forward to each series. I’m like, “What are they going to produce this year?” Whether it’s Bubble Tea or Rat or Dippy Egg, the imagination that gets put in these costumes, you can’t even believe. It’s so hard to explain when there’s a new series and you say a name like Chicken Caesar and it’s a chicken dressed as Julius Caesar or you say we have a Piranha that is smiling in pyjamas, that is the concept. It’s totally mad!”
What’s it been like backstage this series?
“Everyone comes out of their dressing rooms and it’s like coming out on a catwalk, I can’t lie. Everyone’s wearing really cool stuff for the show, whether it’s disco week or circus week! There’s some very good outfits that we’ve all got lined up!”
