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Sarah Vesty & Rebecca Cook

The Masked Singer 2022 winner as Panda unveiled as Natalie Imbruglia

Panda has been crowned winner of The Masked Singer 2022 with Natalie Imbruglia unveiled as the celeb underneath the costume.

The singer-songwriter’s identity was revealed on the ITV show’s final episode which aired on Saturday night.

The finale of the singing battle welcomed back contestants from the first two series including last year’s winner Joss Stone, who was unmasked as Sausage in 2021, the Mirror reports.

Joss joined the judging panel alongside Jonathan Ross, Mo Gilligan, Rita Ora and Davina McCall - all of whom were left gobsmacked when Panda took off their mask to reveal their true identity.

Singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia (ITV)

Panda gave final performances of Blank Space by Taylor Swift and One Direction's Story of My Life to a rapt audience in the studio, before offering the final clue: "Something I once said was quite Frankenstein".

Panda certainly confused fans with the clues, or lack of, but other viewers thought they might already know who it was beneath the costume.

According to several ITV viewers, BGT judge Alesha Dixon was behind the mask.

Clues also included being shy, being solo while also possibly being part of a group, and nods to pandas.

Fans were quick to point out Alesha is a judge on a talent show, has voiced characters in digital animations and she also has a panda print clothing range with Asda.

Another name in the rumour mill was the singer and Neighbours actress Natalie Imbruglia herself.

The Masked Singer has had fans across the UK guessing who might be behind the masks for the last few weeks, as the ultimate guessing game saw ITV viewers take to social media to share wide-ranging theories on the identities.

The Masked Singer’s host Joel Dommett gave fans a sneak hint of who the 2022 winner of the ITV show could be ahead of the final, as the show was pre-recorded.

The 36-year-old told ITV’s Lorraine Kelly: “I was very, very happy with the outcome. It’s such a special final. I think it’s just all out madness, silliness, great guest judge.”

He continued: “I think the three finalists are the three that deserved to be in the final this year. I think they’re very very good.One person in particular - I’m not going to give it away - but, I lose my mind. I lose my mind. It comes out of nowhere.”

Last week, Rockhopper was unmasked as Destiny's Child singer Michelle Williams on the celeb singing competition.

There was a double elimination on the show, with Aled Jones leaving the programme first when he was unmasked as Traffic Cone earlier in the night, and then later followed by the singer.

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