With many people getting bored of the tired formats of The Voice and The X Factor, The Masked Singer was a huge hit when it first aired earlier this year. So much so that unsurprisingly ITV have decided to bring back the fun series. And it's probably coming back sooner than you think, with the first episode airing on December 26. (Perfect Boxing Day viewing for when you're eating leftover turkey sandwiches.)
Earlier this year, Girls' Aloud's Nicola Roberts won the first UK series as Queen Bee, with the other the finalists being Jason Manford as Hedgehog and Katherine Jenkins as Octopus. While the show was incredibly successful over here, The Masked Singer all started in South Korea, where it was called King of Mask Singer - it was then picked up in America and there's now series in tens of countries all over the world.
If you've never watched the show before, The Masked Singer pits 12 celebrities against each other in a singing competition. But they perform dressed in elaborate costumes – this year including a sausage, a viking, a dragon, a sea horse, an alien, a clock, a cone of chips and a badger. I mean, why not?
The celebrity judges offer critiques, while attempting to guess the identity of the singers. They remain in disguise backstage and throughout all pre- and post-performance interview segments, with voice-disguising technology hiding the sound of their speaking voices. The singing is all them, though. But they don't have to be singers, with actors, athletes and anybody in the public eye able to take part. (The show is pre-recorded though, so you can't vote.)
The Masked Singer's second series will also see the return of celebrity panelists Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Jonathan Ross, who will be joined by Mo Gilligan after Ken Jeong was unable to return due to the pandemic. Comedian Joel Dommett will also return as host. After the year we've had, we can't wait.
The Masked Singer UK will return to ITV on December 26 at 7pm.
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