On Saturday evening, viewers of The Masked Singer were taken by surprise when two celebrity contestants had their identities disclosed during the most recent episode of the ITV series.
The widely popular competition features celebrities performing while concealed in elaborate costumes, assuming the persona of an animal or inanimate object to obscure their true identity. The panel of judges is then tasked with determining their identities based on performance and other clues.
Upon being eliminated through a combination of votes from the studio audience and the judging panel, the participating celebrities are required to remove their masks, thereby revealing their true identities. During Saturday’s episode, the contestant performing as ‘Kingfisher’ was unmasked as renowned artist Sir Grayson Perry, 64, while ‘Snail’ was revealed to be singer Andrea Corr, 50. The revelations left both the audience and judges visibly astonished.
Following these disclosures, only five contestants remain in the competition—Wolf, Bush, Bear, Dressed Crab, and Pufferfish—who are set to compete in next week’s highly anticipated semi-final.
Upon revealing her identity, Andrea Corr, the lead singer of Celtic pop-rock group The Corrs, expressed her enjoyment, stating: ‘I had such a good time, everyone’s been lovely, it’s been really joyous. I wanted to do it for the children.’
Andrea Corr further stated that she ‘loved’ her glittery pink costume and had not disclosed her participation in the ITV competition to anyone.
Similarly, Sir Grayson Perry affirmed that he had a ‘lovely time embracing the spirit of the show.’
The judging panel’s attempts to identify the artist behind the Kingfisher persona were notably inaccurate, as they speculated that the contestant could be comedian Harry Hill or Joe Lycett.
Meanwhile, one of Snail’s clues—waving a fan emblazoned with the name ‘Jane,’ which happens to be Andrea Corr’s middle name—provided some viewers with an early indication of her identity. However, the judges failed to recognize this clue, with Mo Gilligan speculating that she might be Jane McDonald, Jonathan Ross suggesting Sugababes singer Heidi Range, and Davina McCall hypothesizing that it could be All Saints’ star Melanie Blatt after the phrase ‘never ever’ was referenced as a clue.
Following the episode, viewers took to social media platform X to share their reactions, with one user commenting: ‘Didn’t sound like her tbh I wouldn’t have got that #TheMaskedSinger.’ Another expressed their disbelief over Kingfisher’s identity, writing: ‘#TheMaskedSinger Kingfisher—I’m in shock. I would have bet my house that was Harry Hill. Right, I don’t know who any of the others are now, not even Natalie Cassidy is definite anymore.’#newsafro_
