The Masked Singer is returning for 2023 with 13 stars in 13 brand new costumes amid a show first.
Rita Ora, Jonathan Ross, Mo Gilligan and Davina McCall are all returning to the panel for the ITV show, which kicks off in January 2023 and will be hosted by comedian Joel Dommett. With a record 13 new stars and 13 new costumes, no expense has been spared.
The fan-favourite series will be airing on the very first day of the new year at 6:30pm on ITV1.
Vying for the coveted Masked Singer crown in series four will be Fawn, Jacket Potato, Piece of Cake, Pigeon, Rhino, Rubbish, Ghost, Jellyfish, Knitting, Otter, Phoenix and for the first time on The Masked Singer, there will be a duo under the guise of Cat and Mouse.
Davina recently sat down with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning to discuss the upcoming series.
"Pigeon played pigeon so well. Phoenix was a phoenix. I started forgetting there was a celebrity in the costume, phoenix was so good," she said.
The star also explained how she's able to guess so many celebrities correctly when they're hidden under a mask.
"Some people you can tell from their gait. I just met somebody back stage said their guess is Gloria Hunniford from the way she walked and nothing else," she said.
The new arrivals come after Natalie Imbruglia was revealed to be masquerading as Panda on series three of the show, with other stars including footballer Michael Owen, who hid behind a Doughnuts mask, and Charlotte Church was hiding under a Mushroom costume.
Here we take a look at some of the early clues from the panellists, ahead of the show starting on January 1, 2023.
Cat and Mouse are the talk of the town, given they're the first ever duo on The Masked Singer.
"It's funny because you'd think, "Oh. Well, there's two of them. If they're a duo, then it's easier to guess”. But I've been looking at them thinking, "You're not a couple,” but then they might be acting like they are a couple," Davina said of their identity.
Jonathan also admitted it made things harder for them in deciding who might be behind the mask, adding: "So it makes it a bit harder to guess because the clues could be about one of them or both of them, you know what I mean?
"So it's harder in many ways but it's a lot more fun to watch because you try and pick up from them what is their relationship? Are they people who are together off screen? Are they people who work together? So it feels like a different element and it means that they can do different things on stage together as well. So you have a different kind of comic dynamic going on there.
Mo - who is returning to the panel after taking a brief break during last year's Masked Dancer - teased some great costumes ahead.
He said: "Probably this series, my favourite costume is Jacket Potato, it's so weird! You've even got styrofoam feet that you get for jacket potatoes. And you just look at it and the attention to detail is insane, he's got a shirt of beans and there is butter on his head.
"And then there's Otter, I love otters, one of my favourite animals. Otters have a stone that they have to smash clams, so ours has little pockets for the stones on the costume. The attention to detail and the costumes are so cool."
There will be some emotional performances this time too.
Davina divulged: "Absolutely!! Jellyfish is an extraordinary performer and has made us all feel pretty emotional. Rhino, as well, has been particularly emotive. There are people who completely draw you in.
"It’s lucky for Rhino, actually, that they can pull some emotion out of the bag, because it's very, very hard in that costume to give us anything at all. They are massive, and they are quite humble."
She added: "They keep putting their little hooves together, it looks so sweet. If it's possible to have a sweet rhino, this is it."
*The Masked Singer starts on 1st January at 6.30pm ITV1 and ITVX.
