Natalie Imbruglia has spoken about her friendship with the Masked Singer judge Davina McCall following claims that the show was "fixed" after she became its latest winner.
The singer, 47, won the ITV competition over the weekend as the character Panda, beating both Charlotte Church, 35, as Mushroom, and Mark Feehily, 41, as Robobunny.
And following her recent victory, the Neighbours alum has discussed the disappointment expressed by some viewers, who have speculated on social media that it was a fix.
She's suggested that the show shouldn't be "seriously competitive," with her having also opened up about her friendship with McCall, 54, who was among the judges.
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The actor weighed in on the situation in a recent interview, in which she commented on the fact that many viewers become "invested," as reported by the Sun this week.
She said that it's "wonderful that people are so invested" in particular celebrities, but added that her experience on the popular show had featured "amazing camaraderie."
The Grammy Award nominee - whose songs include Torn - further commented: "It's a fun family show. I don't think it should be seriously competitive in that way."
She expressed hope that the "overarching" takeaway from the show would be that people "really enjoyed" it, with her describing everybody as having been a winner.
And she also discussed her friendship with McCall, after fans were surprised by the former's reaction to Panda being unmasked as her friend during the final over the weekend.
Imbruglia has explained that the pair have been friends for some time. She said that following her win, McCall messaged her on social media to further express her surprise.
She said that they have had a "back and forth chat," with her revealing that McCall said: "I don't think it's sunk into you that you've just won an eight week competition."
The former soap star said that this was "true," with her admitting that she had been "convinced" that Mushroom would be declared the winner of the third series.
She continued: "But yeah, [McCall] was really funny and she was talking about the host [ Joel Dommett ] because he was quite freaked out that I've been hugging him all week."
The Masked Singer has been renewed for two more series, with 6.3 million viewers having tuned in to the final on Saturday. The Masked Dancer will return later this year.
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