Yahoo News Masked Singer UK: Who are the mystery contestants? All the latest clues
The most bizarre competition series in the world, The Masked Singer, is back on ITV every Saturday night.
The show returned to our screens on New Year’s Day, with a new group of celebrities performing from inside giant costumes in a bid to outwit judges Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Rita Ora and Mo Gilligan.
Here’s a line-up of the mystery contestants and what we know about them so far. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the celebrities who have been revealed already.
Mushroom was the first contestant to perform during the opening show, during which she treated fans to a tuneful rendition of “It’s Oh So Quiet” by Björk.
In her opening night VT, Mushroom spoke with a northern English accent and dropped hints about doing serious work and having a love of trying new things while also holding a gavel.
However, when singing she appeared to have a strong Irish accent, leaving both the audience and judge Davina McCall convinced that Mushroom must come from Ireland.
A number of names were frequently raised by viewers at home, including comedian Aisling Bea.
Many suggested that Mushroom could be one of the Derry Girls, while some said that they thought it was actually Siobhán McSweeney, who plays Sister Michael, behind the mask.
However, a number of viewers guessed that it was actually Pauline McLynn, who is most famous for playing Mrs Doyle in Father Ted.
In the episode on 8 January, Mushroom sang “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” by Stockard Channing from the film Grease.
She gave away hardly any clues. She said the judges need to “get up earlier and dig deeper if they want to catch me out”. She added: “I’ve been lucky to be able to leave my forest and plant myself in lots of exciting places far from home.”
Ora thought Mushroom sounded less Irish than before, so her guess was Saturdays star Rochelle Humes. McCall thought of singer Jane McDonald, while Gilligan got “Yorkshire vibes” from the accent and went for actor Kym Marsh and Ross guessed Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley.
Mushroom received a standing ovation on 29 January, leaving judges to guess Sheridan Smith.
The VT clue heavily suggested they had a link to a fragrance, with another clue discussing their birthday. This prompted Gilligan to guess Charlotte Church as he recently interviewed her... on her birthday.
According to the bookies, Mushroom is most likely to be Bea with odds of 10/11.
In his first show, Traffic Cone performed “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley and dropped a number of clues about his identity in his VT.
He said in week one that the triangle shape was linked to something close to his heart and that he liked to party. He also made references to both sport and driving.
The judges guessed that Peter Andre, Chris Kamara, Olly Murs or Alistair Brownlee could be behind the mask.
Sharing their guesses online, Twitter users said that they believed Murs, Peter Kay or Rob Brydon might be Traffic Cone.
On Saturday (15 January), he sang “When Somebody Loved Me” from Toy Story 2.
In his VT, Traffic Cone said that he was prone to “breaking the rules from time to time”. He said that he had once “squared off” against someone who was the fourth best in the world and had been “smashed at Wimbledon”.
Ora guessed Jack Whitehall as a reference to him having fans in the stands. McCall went for Jimmy Carr, while Gilligan said Lee Evans. Ross went for Bradley Walsh.
On 29 January, a clue referenced “platinum” and “gold”, which led mo Gilligan to wonder if the mystery celebrity was Martin Kemp, who guessed that Spandau Ballet song “Gold” could have gone Platinum in the charts.
Thanks to Traffic Cone’s impressive singing voice, Davina McCall predicted Les Misérables stage actor Alfie Boe, which was backed up by their claim they have to “learn lines” for a living.
According to the bookies, Traffic Cone is most likely to be Kamara with odds of 7/4.
In week one, Panda performed “Levitating” by Dua Lipa.
In week one, Panda performed “Levitating” by Dua Lipa. The biggest clues that were given about Panda were that their VT was filmed in the woods, they love “adventure”, they are a “solitary creature” and an introverted extrovert, and they have an American accent. Panda also revealed they have “been animated” before.
One fan theory that circulated online was that Alesha Dixon is hiding beneath the costume, as the talent show judge voiced a part in Disney’s animation Doc McStuffins.
On Saturday (15 January), Panda performed “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer.
Her VT featured many references to stars and spirituality, with Panda saying that she loved “exploring the world” but would always find her way home.
McCall guessed Kate Hudson, while Ora went for Renée Zellweger. Gilligan meanwhile went for Amanda Holden.
On 22 January, Panda sang One Direction’s “Story Of My Life”. In the latest clue VT, Panda referenced One Direction as well as hinting at a solo career.
These clues led to many guessing that Panda is Girls Aloud star Cheryl. One person tweeted: “Surely Panda is Cheryl Cole? Son called Bear, sang One Direction and the father of her child is in One Direction, she was a judge on X Factor!”
This theory was backed up even further on 29 January. The latest clue VT ended with Panda saying the term “right up my street”, which is what Cheryl would say when she was a judge on The X Factor.
Guest judge Olly Alexander also pointed out that Cheryl has a son called Bear, with viewers noting that Bear’s father is former One Direction star Liam Payne. Panda sang a One Direction song in last week’s episode.
According to Betfair, Panda is most likely to be Imbruglia with odds of 6/4.
In week one, Rockhopper performed “Higher Love” by Steve Winwood.
We learned that Rockhopper is a big entertainer, they are related to the circus, they might have an American accent, and they have the ability to jump. They also “made headlines by being the first” and there were mentions of the “greatest show”.
One fan theory that circulated online was that Zendaya is hiding beneath the costume, as the actor starred in The Greatest Showman.
Ora was convinced Rockhopper was Zendaya, too, and it was thought that the clue hinting towards the star’s ability to jump could tie into Zendaya’s boyfriend, Spider-Man star Tom Holland.
On Saturday (15 January), Rockhopper’s VT continued in the circus theme, while they said that they had “never been one to ruffle feathers”. However, they added that they were “no stranger to giving my opinion” and liked to help people, leading the judges to theorise that they could be a podcast host.
After an impressive rendition of Amy Winehouse’s “Love is a Losing Game”, the judges were convinced that Rockhopper was a singer, while their accent seemed to hint at them being Scandinavian. McCall thought it was Zara Larsson, while Gilligan went for Robyn.
Ross guessed Fearne Cotton while Ora thought that Jamelia was behind the mask.
Following Rockhopper’s performance of Miley Cyrus’s “Edge of Midnight” on 22 January, viewers were convinced that the name behind the mask is Destiny’s Child singer Michelle Williams.
The clues included a series of photos of William Shatner, William Shakespeare and Prince William, all pointing viewers to the name William.
One viewer said: “Ahh the ‘Williams’ rings true to the people on Twitter saying it’s Michelle from Destiny’s Child.”
Another wrote: “If you haven’t clicked that Rockhopper is Michelle Williams from Destiny’s Child from the clues tonight, I don’t know how to help you.”
Further clues on 29 January featured mentions of retail therapy and power cuts,, which was in turn highlighted could link to songs by the Pussycat Dolls. With this in mind, Nicole Scherzinger was a guess made by the judges.
However, it’s being pointed out that Jonathan Ross’ guess of Ellie Goulding could have some credence to it; the Baritish singer has a track called “Electricity”.
According to the Betfair, Rockhopper is most likely to be Robyn with odds of 11/10.
The half-robot-half-animal character won fans over with their rendition of “Saving All My Love For You” by Whitney Houston on the first weekend.
In their first VT, Robobunny gave a number of clues, stating: “You thought I was a real tough guy, aye? That’s just my shell. I’m actually a real softie, who’s part of a machine.”
They added: “Now I’m not going to ‘rabbit’ on about hard exterior but I will say that I’m here to ‘Control-Alt-Delete’ what you know about me.”
Their final clue was: “I might be made of metal but that doesn’t stop me making a splash.”
Some viewers thought the character could be Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds, due to Robobunny’s voice, others thought it could be Westlife’s Mark Feehily as he appeared in an episode of Doc Martin called “ctrl , alt , delete”.
Given the size of the costume and the fact the character speaks in what appears to be two voices, many fans speculated that Robobunny could, in fact, be two people, for example Ant and Dec.
The judges guessed celebrities including Vinnie Jones, Drake and Top Gear presenter Paddy McGuinness.
On 8 January, Robobunny sang “Shallow” from A Star is Born by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. Clues included a police badge, cowboy boots, a ranch and line dancing.
Ora thought it could be Danny O’Donohue from The Script, Gilligan guessed Richard Blackwood because of the letters “R” and “B” and McCall reckoned it could perhaps be actor Kevin Bacon.
Viewers were still keen on Feehily. “Robobunny is Mark Feehily from Westlife and I’ll not hear another word about it,” tweeted one fan.
During episode five (in week three), Robobunny wowed the judges with their rendition of “Dynamite” by BTS.
Their latest VT includes clues that they are from a big family, have a sporting background and enjoy gardening.
Their dad – “Papa Bunny” – is said to have “inspired their talent” meaning that fans are on the lookout for stars with famous fathers. A pair of boxing gloves reading MA were also spotted in the VT.
On 29 January, Robobunny’s VT clue suggested they have worked with “divas” in the past, with another mentioning Grease. This led to a guess of Shane Richie, who once appeared in a West End production of the American musical.
According to the bookies, Robobunny is most likely to be Feehily with odds of 6/4.
Chandelier - Heather Small
The Nineties singer – famed for hits like “Moving On Up” and “Proud” – was unmasked on the very first Saturday. Her song was “Crazy” by Patsy Cline.
Snow Leopard - Gloria Hunniford
The Rip Off Britain and Loose Women presenter sang Shirley Bassey classic Big Spender on the hit ITV show. Her true identity was discovered on the first weekend.
Lionfish - Will Young
The “Leave Right Now” singer was the third mystery celebrity to be revealed after losing in the sing-off against Firework. Judges Ora and Ross had both guessed his identity correctly.
Bagpipes - Pat Cash
Australian Tennis player Pat Cash was eliminated on Saturday (15 January) after the judges voted to save Poodle in the bottom two. McCall had correctly guessed that Bagpipes was Cash, while Ross had said he would eat the costume if it wasn’t US sports star John McEnroe.
Poodle - Tom Chaplin
Tom Chaplin, the lead singer of the band Keane, was the fifth contestant to be eliminated from The Masked Singer as he was unmasked as Poodle. In his last episode on 22 January, he performed a cover of Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten”.
Firework – Jaime Winstone
Jaime Winstone, actor from films Kidulthood and Donkey Punch, was the sixth contestant to be eliminated from the show after being unmasked as Firework. Winstone is the daughter of Ray Winstone.
Doughnuts – Michael Owen
Retired footballer Michael Owen was the seventh contestant to be eliminated from the show after being unmasked as Doughnuts. He said he “surprised” by singing in front of a live crowd and compared the nerves to the ones he felt while talking penalties for England.
The Masked Singer airs on Saturdays on ITV at 7pm.
