Charlie Simpson has spoken about his fears during his The Masking Singer stint after he was unmasked as Rhino and crowned the winner during Saturday night's finale.
The Busted star, 37, finally revealed his identity after beating both Fawn and Phoenix, who were unmasked as All Saints star Natalie Appleton and Kaiser Chiefs singer Ricky Wilson.
Judges Rita Ora and Davina McCall had been convinced Rhino had been the pop singer, amid rampant speculation it could actually be X Factor alum James Arthur.
Charlie wowed both the judges and the public with his voice ahead of the final, but told Lorraine Kelly on Monday morning that he had been nervous about performing the songs.
Sitting in the ITV studio, he said: “I was absolutely terrified. It seemed so alien being in this costume and singing some songs I didn't know so well.
“I was worried about remembering the lyrics. I’ve been onstage before and literally gone up to the mic and had a complete blank.
“I was like, if that happens in front of millions of people on television it’s going to be really embarrassing.”
Charlie explained that the only person he told about his appearance on the show was his wife, but admitted his two songs instantly guessed it was him.
“I did try to keep it a secret,” he said, “but the first moment we watched it as a family my two boys were like, that’s you Daddy.
“They knew. The reason they questioned it was because obviously it’s filmed months ago, so they couldn't figure out how I was watching with them and in the TV.”
For weeks the clues had pointed to Charlie being Rhino, so for many fans it wasn't a surprise when host Joel Dommett helped to remove the mask to reveal it was him.
When asked by presenter Joel if he thought he would win, Charlie replied: “No, I was just like 'remember the lyrics and have fun.”
Rhino took to the stage to belt out his rendition of Lewis Capaldi's Before You Go followed by a reprisal of Pink's hit song Try.
For his duet he was joined by 2021 contestant Harlequin, AKA Gabrielle, to sing Labrinth and Emeli Sandé's song Beneath Your Beautiful.
Guest panellist Lee Mack was blown away, describing it as ‘wonderful’ before Charlie later revealed: “My band mates in both Busted and Fightstar guessed it was me within the first two seconds of hearing Rhino sing.
“When you spend that much time on stage with people and spend so much time in the studio, it would be very hard for them not to get it pretty much instantly.”
Adding of his time on the show he said: “I was very happy when Joel called my name. I have never been in a singing competition before so I found the whole thing quite surreal.
“I think Use Somebody by Kings Of Leon was my favourite song to sing. It is a song that I feel very comfortable performing and know very well.
“I also knew the words better than most of the other songs, so I felt as though I could just enjoy performing it.”
*Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV
