BRILLIANTLY BONKERS!

A sing-off between stars in crazy costumes as the judges try to guess who they are? Yes, it’s bizarre new show The Masked Singer

Cartoons aside, it’s not every day you turn on the television to see a unicorn competing against a butterfly, a giant bee going head-to-head with a duck or a brightly illuminated chameleon taking on a hedgehog. That, however, is the eccentric but highly entertaining prospect awaiting viewers of new eight-part ITV entertainsinger. ment show The Masked

Based on an original South Korean concept, it’s billed as TV’S most outrageous singing competition – and it’s certainly one of the most bizarre. Each week celebrities concealed in elaborate head-to-toe costumes and face masks compete in front of an audience and a panel of judges – in this instance Jonathan Ross, Rita Ora, Davina Mccall and Korean-american comedian and actor Ken Jeong – who must try and work out who they are from their singing voice and a few tantalisingly scattered clues.

As such it’s less a reality or talent show and more a guessing game, says Ken, possibly familiar to viewers as drug lord Leslie Chow from The Hangover film series, who presides over the hugely successful US version of the show. ‘We’re not so much judges, more detectives trying to solve clues,’ he says. ‘That’s what distinguishes our show from other panel shows. We’re the eyes and ears of the audience.’

The format is simple: 12 famous faces, each elaborately disguised, compete to pull off the best singing performance. Over the first two episodes, shown on consecutive nights, they will go head-to-head in pairs, each person performing a song of their choice in their real voice. All the while, the judges – and the viewers at home – try to guess the identity of the singers using hints and red herrings offered in pre-taped interviews, with the celebrities’ voices distorted. The panel and studio audience vote to save their favourites and the losers are put up for elimination. One will be sent home each episode – and their identity is only then revealed. The others remain in the competition, still incognito. In subsequent weeks, the remaining stars compete against each other until only three remain in the final.

Jonathan Ross says he knew it was a winning family-friendly format from the start – and one he wishes had been around when his own grown-up children were small. ‘In a way, even though I hope we bring something to it, it doesn’t really matter who’s on the panel – the format is the star of the show and it’s such a wonderful idea. Hopefully it will click with people,’ he says.

‘Kids are going to love it because the characters are so child-friendly and there’s so much joy in it. Older people will love it as well, and I hope it will find an audience on a Saturday night because there are few shows you can really enjoy as a family.’

Producers of the show, which is pre-recorded, have certainly gone to huge lengths to preserve the identities of the celebrities taking part before it airs, with not just singers but sports stars, actors, artists and comedians among them. Such is the wall of silence around the contestants that the 500-strong audience watching the filming had to leave the auditorium before any character removed their mask.

It means that at the time of writing only a few members of the production team – and the panel who have already completed filming – know who they really are. The secrecy even extends to the contestants’ families, according to Joel Dommett, the I’m A Celebrity: Extra Camp presenter who hosts here. ‘I spoke to someone who was on the show and they told me they hadn’t told anyone,’ he says. ‘The

Jonathan with the Monster and Queen Bee performers. Below: the Unicorn only person who knew was their agent – they hadn’t told their kids, they hadn’t told their parents. They’re so excited that their children will find out while they’re sitting next to them in the living room when it airs.’

What’s more, there are plenty of surprises afoot according to the panel, who were frequently taken aback by who was behind the mask. ‘With one of them, I was so surprised because I know them quite well and they were so disappointed I didn’t guess,’ laughs Davina Mccall, pointing out that the production team planted ‘left-field’ clues to put them off the scent. ‘Sometimes they’d give us three facts, but one was a lie.’

The judges were all blown away by the costumes, with Jonathan particularly taken by the Octopus and the Queen Bee. ‘We all fell in love with Queen Bee, who managed to give such a vulnerable and enticing performance, even under that mask,’ he says.

And make no mistake, performing while dressed as a gigantic insect is no picnic. ‘Even though it’s not a live show, they were singing live and they were only allowed one take,’ says Jonathan. ‘They’re wearing a really cumbersome costume and singing live in front of an audience. Many of them are at the top of their game, but it’s nerve-racking to come out dressed as a giant duck and perform!’

What struck Davina was that the stars embraced the freedom their anonymity gave them. ‘They enjoyed going out there and being whoever they wanted to be because nobody knew who they really were,’ she says. ‘It was an opportunity to reinvent themselves, so rather than saying, “This is ridiculous, I look so silly”, people cherished the anonymity.’ Viewers are certainly likely to be entertained by some of the panel’s weirder guesses as to who’s behind the mask: it’s not giving too much away to say that 94-year-old Murder She Wrote actress Angela Lansbury – one of Ken Jeong’s wilder punts – is unlikely to feature. Were any of the stars offended by the panel’s guesses? Not at all, insists Jonathan. ‘There’s no nastiness involved. I made a sarcastic joke once and the audience quickly let me know that wasn’t what they wanted. We’re trying to make it a warm and supportive show because these people are taking a risk coming out and doing it.’

That didn’t stop an element of competition among the panel, of course. ‘Even if I don’t show it on the outside, every time Jonathan said something really good I’d think, “Damn it, that was such a good guess,”’ admits Davina. ‘Actually,’ says Jonathan, ‘Ken and I enjoyed it so much we’ve set up an actual detective agency.’ ‘Ross and Jeong PI,’ adds Ken. Now that’s another show that might have legs.

‘It’s an opportunity to reinvent themselves’ DAVINA MCCALL

Kathryn Knight The Masked Singer, tonight, 7pm, and tomorrow, 8pm, ITV.