You don’t expect to see a car wash doing backflips...
Strictly’s Oti Mabuse is ready for a dance party. MARION McMULLEN finds out what’s in store from new reality show The Masked Dancer
WE’VE had The Masked Singer, now The Masked Dancer arrives on ITV – with celebrity contestants performing some fancy footwork while dressed in outlandish costumes.
Joel Dommett returns as host and the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Oti Mabuse joins Jonathan Ross, comedian Mo Gilligan and Davina McCall on the star panel, to guess the masked stars’ identities.
Here, Oti, 30, tells us what she made of the mystery dancers on the show, which kicks off tonight and airs all next week.
What can you tell us about The Masked Dancer?
It’s an amazing guessing show that’s fun and, for me, it’s just an honour and a privilege to get to do it with such incredible people like Jonathan, Davina, Mo and Joel.
We are constantly laughing. There is great banter and chemistry and coming to work is a joy. I’m one of those people that is very excitable so when I wake up I’m like ‘wooo! I’m going to work. Yay!’.
I love that we get to see a different side of dancing. Dancing is fun but you are adding another element where you have to guess who it is.
That’s something that we can all do at home and to do it nationally with a dancing show is very refreshing and I love that.
I thought I would be OK at it but I am so terrible at it. Oh, my gosh!
It’s actually hurting me a little bit because I was like ‘Oh I’ve got this, I probably know them and they’ve all done some show that I work on’, but it’s hard, it’s really, really difficult.
Have you been impressed by the dance moves?
Yes. My mind has been blown. You just don’t expect that level of dance so it’s really hard to guess who these people are because they are known for other things, not just their dancing skills.
You don’t expect to see a car wash doing backflips in a huge costume, it’s crazy but it happens.
I know you guys don’t know what I am talking about but trust me you will be like, ‘how can they do that?’.
What are you looking for in the performances?
I am looking for the clues. I’m not looking for high kicks and legs and splits, I’m looking for the clues.
I’m looking to find out whether I can guess who the person is, and the nice thing about this is that everything is a surprise.
If one of the characters is coming out as a beetroot you are never going to expect in a million years that someone can dance in a beetroot suit and yet they are coming out and doing the most incredible things.
Whether it’s their dancing skills, their dancing styles, their choice of music – which is so important because the songs that they dance to mean something to them. When you get to relate to them and get to know them that way and they are dressed as they are – it’s just bonkers and I love it.
How are the performers coping dancing in such elaborate costumes? Any mishaps?
No, no mishaps yet actually. I think they are coping really well.
I think the costume department is really, really good because you can see that these costumes have been designed for them.
Sometimes fashion and dance don’t work well together because you can’t dance in everything but the way that they have done it is so classy, so good.
They look comfortable dancing in whatever they are wearing and it’s also spectacular. It’s the bigness, the craziness of everything and it’s just amazing. The costume department is incredible.
What are your detective skills like?
Coming from Strictly, I’m naming every single Strictly contestant ever… all the time.
I am also saying people that are probably not likely to ever dance in public or even at home.
Did you watch The Masked Singer?
Personally, for me, when I watched The Masked Singer I was watching it for the singing and there’s no pressure when you are at home if you don’t get it right.
I fell in love with the show because there’s something about the characters, along with the beauty of the unknown, the guessing and how difficult it is. What captured me was the fact that once the show is done, somehow during the week there’s a random thought where you go ‘Who’s Robin?’.
It’s always going to be in your mind and I love that.
If you were able to be a contestant would you want to be a Masked Singer or a Masked Dancer?
A Masked Dancer all the way. I’m always singing though, and Mo says ‘you should do the Masked Singer’ but I said, ‘if I do The Masked Singer you’ll guess me because I am always singing in your ear.’
Which costume would you choose to best represent you?
I wouldn’t choose a costume that would represent me because then I would be guessed. It would be easy.
If I was on I’d be a fish, like Finding Nemo. That would be me... or Dory. I’d be something completely opposite to what I think people know me as.
A sloth, something like that, but I would play it up because I realise that it’s a whole package, it’s how you walk on, it’s how you act when the detectives are guessing.
It’s what you look like. I would look like someone from Paw Patrol because the kids would love me.
That’s it. A dog from Paw Patrol that would definitely be me and I would be as likeable as possible and I would hide my dancing until the very last moment – then I would do 16 cartwheels. ■ The Masked Dancer starts on ITV tonight at 7pm