Reality show The Masked Singer divides critics and branded ‘barmy’, ‘deranged’ and ‘fantastic’ as ITV pins it hopes on bringing the joy back to Saturday night family viewing
ByKatie Hind Showbusiness Editor For The Mail On Sunday
Published:|Updated:
We’ve seen celebrities eating bugs in the Australian outback, young prima donnas hoping to find a mate onLove Islandand amateur bakers fretting over their Victoria sponges.
Now, ITV is hoping to restore the joy of family viewing with a bizarre new reality show.
A giant duck, a butterfly and a chameleon appeared on the stage. At the end of the viewers saw the butterfly character unmasked as former EastEnders actress Patsy Palmer
The Masked Singer, a concept originally devised in South Korea, presents a line-up of stars battling it out in a singing contest – all the while dressed in peculiar costumes designed to conceal their identities.
On the American series, Gladys Knight sang dressed as a bee while Donny Osmond competed as a peacock.
When the UK version debuted last night, viewers saw a giant queen bee, a fox, a duck and an octopus singing through their masks to win over a studio audience.
Until one singer is unmasked at the end of each program , the only ‘visible’ celebrities are those on the panel – Davina McCall, Rita Ora, Jonathan Ross and actor Ken Jeong – who constantly try to guess who is singing.
The panel included (from left to right) Ken Jeong, Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Jonath an Ross. The celebrities constantly try to guess who is singing
Last night, opinion was divided on the show, which critics have described as ‘barmy’, ‘deranged’ and ‘fantastic’. Veteran DJ Tony Blackburn slammed it on social media. He wrote: ‘I think this is one of the worst shows I’ve ever seen. Is this really prime-time TV? ‘
However, TV presenter Rick Edwards said he was hooked, writing:’ Well, I can’t help myself, I don ‘ t like myself, but I DO want to know who’s in that duck costume. ‘
At the end of the program, which was the most talked about subject on Twitter while it was being aired, viewers saw the butterfly character unmasked as former East Enders actress Patsy Palmer who had sung Florence and the Machine’s You Got The Love.
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