Every weekend since the start of 2021, The Masked Singer has been aired into our living rooms. Millions of viewers have watched as celebrities reveal themselves underneath crazy costumes, shocking judges and fans of the show alike.
Much to the dismay of fans, tonight will be the last time the show graces our screens this year, as the final is here. Mushroom, Robobunny and Panda will finally be unmasked in tonight’s episode.
Tonight will also be the final time that we see the four judges on the panel this year - Rita Ora, Mo Gilligan, Davina McCall and Jonathan Ross. For the last six weeks, the celebrity judges have been hazarding guesses as to who could possibly be behind the masks, often to the dismay of viewers at home.
Read more: The Masked Singer's Joel Dommett opens up about heartbreaking diagnosis
But the main attraction for a lot of fans of the show is The Masked Singer’s glitzy host, Joel Dommett. Bringing fun suit jackets and strong puns, Joel, 36, has been presenting the hit show since its UK inception in 2020.
When you see Joel up on stage, a celebrity in his own right, cosying up with big names, it’s hard to believe that he’s from a small village, just a stone’s throw from Bristol. The comedian was born in June 1985, in the Gloucestershire village of Rockhampton, mid-way between Berkeley and Thornbury.
Joel attended school in the latter town, at The Castle School. In 2017, he revealed in an interview with The Sun’s TV magazine that he was bullied in school but ended up having the last laugh.
The presenter said: "I got bullied a lot at school but for no particular reason.
“Kids are just so brutal. This one guy used to beat me up all the time.
“Years later he got in touch and said: ‘Hey, how’s it going? Remember me?’ I replied: ‘Yeah, I remember that you used to punch me in the face a lot.’ Then he replied: ‘Oh yeah, but we were just kids, ha ha’.
“When I performed at a festival I got an audience of about 700 people to shout his name out over and over again, calling him a [bleep] and sent it to him on Twitter. That was very satisfying.”
Joel shed some light on his teenage years, during which he was a member of nu metal band called Psirus, in his 2018 memoir: ‘It's Not Me, It's Them: Confessions of a Hopeless Modern Romantic’.
Whilst marketing the book, Joel said: “I wrote a diary when I was 17 years old, the age when all you want in life is to see more boobies and have a small fridge in your bedroom. On the 19/4/03, the day after I lost my virginity, I wrote this bold statement.
I’m scared to have sex with someone else but I want to get better at this. I think I just need to do it more. Maybe 40 people? More than 40 people is sl*tty. I definitely want to fall in love before I reach 40.”
Joel’s first appearance on television was as a character called Jonathon Hansell on Casualty in 2004. One of his most well-known roles came in 2010, when he appeared in hit Bristol-based series Skins, as DC Sweeney.
When he was in his 20s, Joel was the victim of a cruel catfish, which nearly cost the budding actor his career. Before he was famous, Joel was contacted by a seemingly attractive woman online, claiming to be called ‘Staci Taylor’.
‘Staci’ had created a profile to humiliate the future household name, and asked him if he would like to participate in ‘Skype sex’. Joel admitted to The Sun that he agreed.
Joel said: “She then replied: 'My microphone is broken so I won't be able to chat, we will just be able to see each other. That OK?' I said, 'Yes'. Possibly out of politeness, possibly out of the terrible randiness-to-reason ratio we all suffer from at times of heightened sexuality."
Things went from bad to worse when, after the deed had been done, Staci never contacted Joel again, despite him making several attempts to contact her. A few years passed, and as Joel began whizzing his way towards stardom, an account called CelebrityBusted started following him on social media, and the star thought to himself: ‘Why would anyone have naked pictures of me?’
Joel contacted local authorities and asked them to investigate. Thankfully, there was a happy ending after all, and the real ‘Staci’ was identified.
In 2016, Joel became something of a household name when he starred in I’m a Celebrity… Get me out of here!, for the show’s 16th series. After weeks of gruelling tasks and rationed living, Joel was crowned runner up, coming second to Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt.
The following year, Joel was spotted in public with Hannah Cooper. The pair apparently met after the model messaged Joel with a cat emoji on Instagram, and the pair tied the knot in 2019 in Mykonos, Greece.
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