Is it just us, or are the clues on this year’s series of The Masked Singer harder than ever?
The nation’s favourite star-studded guessing game is now underway for a third year, with viewers throughout the UK gripped as they try to determine the celebs underneath the guises.
So far, we’ve already said goodbye to M People singer Heather Small and Loose Women panellist Gloria Hunniford, with 10 characters left in the running waiting for viewers to work out exactly who is underneath the mask.
But producers haven’t exactly made it easy for us this time around, with the clues included in the pre-performance videos more cryptic than ever.
Still, that hasn’t stopped viewers from sharing their predictions online, and we’ve rounded up some of the most popular and plausible ones we’ve seen so far…
Robobunny
Before we get into it, can we just have a moment of appreciation for Robobunny’s costume, made even better when you see that its mouth actually moves while he’s singing? Hats off to the costume department on that one.
Robobunny got things rolling with a blast of Whitney Houston’s breakthrough single Saving All My Love For You, which left us so distracted we couldn’t even start piecing together who it might be.
However, a quick scroll through Twitter shows that certain pop fans reckon they’ve already cracked Robobunny’s identity.
It turns out that Westlife devotees think that the character’s singing voice sounds a lot like Markus Feehily. This is actually quite a credible theory, as Robobunny teased that he’s been “part of a machine” – possibly a reference to being a member of Westlife, if not a comment on the pop industry in general – as well as using the term “control, alt, delete”, which just happens to be the name of a Doc Martin episode he appeared in.
Robobunny also told the judges that he’s no stranger to “making a splash”. While this initially made us think of swimming, it could be Mark’s way of alluding to the fact he supported Wet, Wet, Wet after going solo in the 2010s.
Obviously it’s early days, so we’ll be keeping a bunny ear to the ground for more clues as the weeks roll on, but this one seems pretty likely so far.
Doughnuts
One thing Doughnuts made clear in his introductory VT is that he’s definitely a sportsman, and by the looks of things, he’s a footballer.
A clue that stood out to a lot of Masked Singer viewers – not to mention the panel – was a moment when he was seen eating crisps, which led Jonathan Ross to guess he might be Gary Lineker.
Others have pointed out that Michael Owen was also involved in Walkers crisps advertising back in the day, when the brand changed the name of their popular flavour to Cheese & O wen in his honour. Doughnuts also has a Liverpudlian accent, which supports the Michael Owen theory.
But there’s one other footballer potentially in the running at the moment, too.
When Doughnuts told the panel he’s been both sweet and “savoury”, many thought this might be a pun on goalkeeping. And which former England goalie used to advertise with Walkers? David Seaman.
David’s actually no stranger to singing, having joined forces with many other footballers to record a Sport Relief cover of Take That’s Greatest Day in 2014.
Then again, Michael Owen also lent his voice to the track, so we’ll just have to wait for some more clues before we can narrow this one down…
Panda
All hail Masked Singer Twitter sleuths is all we can say. We were totally drawing a blank after Panda’s first performance, but it seems fans online have already got the true identity of the adorable character nailed down.
Following her first appearance on The Masked Singer, many are convinced that the panda is Natalie Imbruglia.
First of all, the VT could well have made reference to Natalie’s album Left Of The Middle when Panda was seen in a tent that was… well… left of the middle. Panda also claimed this isn’t the first time she’s been “animated”, and Natalie lent her voice to the TV movie Legend Of The Lost Tribe, playing a koala.
Panda also referenced a “talent show”, and the Australian star was previously a judge on The X Factor in her home territory.
Taking a look at Panda’s scout badges also seems to reference a number of Natalie’s songs and albums, including Firebird and Build It Better, both of which were only released in 2021.
Obviously, there’s still time for us to be led to think otherwise, but for now, this is one Masked Singer character we’re definitely not Torn about…
Lionfish
Lionfish was definitely one of the scene-stealers during the first week of performances when they stunned with their rendition of the opera classic Nessun Dorma.
They also proved to be one of the most puzzling characters with their clues.
During Lionfish’s very first introduction, they welcomed us to a show with subtitles flashing up in both French and German, which immediately put us in mind of the opening number of Cabaret.
Stars who’ve played the Emcee in Cabaret over the years include Will Young, Alan Cumming, Julian Clary and Wayne Sleep, but one additional clue helped us narrow it down.
Lionfish remarked they wanted to get “under the skins” of viewers, which got us thinking way back to 2010, when the Leave Right Now singer appeared in an episode of teen drama Skins.
The character also mentioned having used barbs to defend themselves in the past, but only when necessary, which could potentially be an allusion to Will’s infamous pops at Simon Cowell during his time on Pop Idol.
Quite what that comment about “appearing in places I’ve never been” means remains a mystery, though – at least, for the time being.
Traffic Cone
We were so charmed by Traffic Cone that we didn’t even have time to make any early predictions. But we have to say, we think one of the panellists might have already guessed it.
Davina McCall named former footballer Chris Kamara as her pick for Traffic Cone, stating that she thought whoever was under the mask was a sportsman who was “young at heart”.
And Davina could well be right, based on a few more of the clues in Traffic Cone’s VT.
While introducing himself, the camera closed in on a lunchbox with a pie in it, and Chris is a regular contributor to the Channel 4 show Steph’s Packed Lunch. He also held an old-fashioned boom-box up to the screen with two tape decks, and Kammy now has two Christmas albums to his name.
Quite how the traffic cone relates to a shape “close to his heart” or how he made his money “taking my top off” remains to be seen, though.
Mushroom
From the off, Mushroom has proved to be a bit of a tricky one, introducing herself with a thick Northern accent, which immediately gave way to an Irish lilt when she started singing.
Clearly, the celeb underneath the mask is a bit of a chameleon, which the character teased when they said: “As a mushroom, I’m quite mellow and carefree. But I have been known to sprout in a more serious part of the forest, from time to time.”
Mushroom’s Irish accent put many in mind of comedian and actor Aisling Bea the first time they heard her singing, but our first thought was that it could be Absolutely Fabulous star Jane Horrocks underneath the costume.
We know she can sing, and she’s proved herself as a versatile performer as she’s appeared in both comedy and drama in the past. And that first voice didn’t sound a million miles away from Bubble did it?
That being said, how does that explain the gavel, the mysterious “1:28” alarm clock or that clue about how mushrooms help “bring new life”?
All we can say is, watch this space…
Firework
If we rely purely on clues, Firework is one of the toughest of the new Masked Singer characters to work out at this early stage. But the second we heard her sing, we knew we recognised her voice.
At first we thought she might be Pixie Lott, but after revisiting Firework’s performance of Domino, we reckon it could well be Tulisa underneath that jazzy mask.
In recent times, the former X Factor judge and N-Dubz singer has been taking some time out from the spotlight, and what better way to come back into the showbiz world than The Masked Singer, right?
There is just one small thing, though. And that’s Firework’s first verbal clue to the judges.
She told the panel she “light up the street with a different kind of flash”, which obviously puts us in mind of Coronation Street alum like Kym Marsh or Michelle Keegan.
Either way, we’ll be keeping our eyes open for any clues that could be references to the artist formerly known as The Female Boss as we get to know Firework more.
Rockhopper
Rockhopper also left viewers stumped with her cryptic clues during her first VT.
So far, we know she’s a big entertainer who possibly has links to the circus, and also referenced her ability to “jump”.
This put many viewers in mind of the infamous Channel 4 reality show The Jump, with Davina McCall guessing Pussycat Dolls singer Kimberly Wyatt for that reason.
However, what Davina may not have known at the time of filming is that Kimberly is already on the line-up for this year’s Dancing On Ice, and it’s unlikely she’d make even work for herself by signing up for two demanding reality shows.
During Rockhopper’s performance, Kimberly’s PCD bandmate and fellow The Jump alum Ashley Roberts’ name began trending on Twitter, so it seems Masked Singer fans are convinced she could be underneath the penguin mask.
Then again – many were also certain that Ashley was Octopus during series one. And Swan during series two. And Squirrel during The Masked Dancer. So we wouldn’t take people’s word for it just yet.
One thing that really intrigued us about Rockhopper is the fact she said she “made headlines by being the first”, so it’s fair to assume that whoever is under that mask has an impressive record under their belt.
Poodle
Like many Masked Singer viewers, Poodle’s flamboyant characteristics and the references to queens in his VT made us immediately think of Adam Lambert, who has been performing as Queen’s frontman on tour for a number of years now.
But as with Robobunny and Firework, the character’s singing voice is what’s got some viewers barking up a very different tree. See what we did there? Barking? Poodle? Anyway…
Poodle’s rendition of Rocketman made many think it could be none other than Gary Barlow behind the canine disguise, and while we’d initially have ruled him out based on his star power alone, the clues actually do make sense for this theory, too.
The character claimed to have “once gone on a really long walkies”, while Gary famously climbed Kilimanjaro alongside a host of other stars for charity. He’s also performed live for the Queen on several occasions, which might explain the dog collars with famous monarchs’ names on.
Still, would the usually-subdued Gary Barlow have really chosen such an OTT character for his Masked Singer alter-ego?
Bagpipes
For once, it seems the panel has done all of the guesswork for us this time around.
Between them, they worked out that Bagpipes appears to be a tennis player with Scottish heritage, pointing them immediately to John McEnroe.
After his first performance, Bagpipes also claimed to have once “played a wee tune with a tumbling rock”, putting the judges in mind of The Rolling Stones.
Well, John has spoken in the past about crossing paths with the Stones – and he even claimed to have shared a joint with Mick Jagger. In other words, we definitely wouldn’t be surprised if the judges’ early hunch turned out to be correct.
There truly is a first time for everything, isn’t there?
The Masked Singer airs every Saturday night on ITV.
