THE Masked Singer judges and viewers were left gobsmacked as two huge stars were revealed this evening.
In a surprising result Bear and Bush were unmasked this evening – missing out on a place in the final.
As Bear revealed his mask- the panel, Maya Jama, Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, and special guest panellist actor Richard E Grant, screamed when they saw Example underneath.
Maya exclaimed: “I knew it!”
Example, real name Elliot Gleave, is an English music star, with a series of top ten hits under his belt – including Won’t Go Quietly and Kickstarts.
Later it was revealed that Bush was getting the axe and it was finally revealed that EastEnders legend Natalie Cassidy was beneath it.
Natalie is best known for playing Sonia on the BBC soap, but recently announced she was stepping down from the role.
Fans had been speculating for weeks that it was Natalie behind Bush.
Next week the final three – Dressed Crab, Pufferfish and Wolf – will battle it out to be crowned the 2025 winner.
Example delivered a soulful performance of She by Elvis Costello during the show.
Fellow panellist Jonathanthought it could be documentary maker Louis Theroux, presenter Davina opted for comedian Romesh Ranganathan and guest panellist Richard chose Shakespeare In Love actor Joseph Fiennes.
Speaking after he was revealed, Example said: “I sound like me when I sing my records and I rap like me, so I needed to do something different every week!”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Masked Singer fans baffled as star goes missing and is replaced by acting legend” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6368519061112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]During the show,Natalie gave a joyful rendition of Abba classic Thank You For The Music for her first performance and sang Stay (I Missed You) by Lisa Loeb for her second.
Richard thought it could be Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes behind the mask and Maya went down the actress route as well with EastEnders’ Maisie Smith, which Johnathan agreed to before opting for Coronation Street star Angela Griffin, while Davina went for comic Morgana Robinson.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D105958%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]Following her reveal, the actress said: “It’s been one of the best jobs I’ve ever done.”
She added: “I think my little one will love it. My little Alfie, my great nephew, loves the show, so he’s going to be thrilled.
“And I think my 14-year-old is going to go either way. She’s either going to say ‘Mum I’m really proud of you’ or ‘This is the most embarrassing thing’.”
Judge Mo Gilligan, who was absent from tonight’s show, was the first to guess that it was in fact Example.
He said: “I think I’ve known who this is for a couple of weeks.
“You know why its because of the way they stand – I know this person personally.
“I’ve seen some music clues, I’ve seen they can do different types of music genres.
“I see under there I think it’s my friend Example.”
Twelve celebrities were hidden behind intricate costumes, with their identities concealed.
Pufferfish – This year’s winner had flawless vocals throughout the competition. West End powerhouse Samantha Barks told the audience she’d loved every second of the series.
Dressed Crab – Former American football player turned jazz singer Gregory Porter was the man behind the crustacean. He duetted with Keala Settle, who previously competed as Air Fryer, in the final.
Wolf – Wet Wet Wet heartthrob Marti Pellow was unmasked as the rugged character. McFly’s Danny Jones, who won last year’s show as Piranha, was on the panel in the final and paid his respects to the Scottish crooner.
Bush – she didn’t fool viewers and the judges were so close, but Bush was in fact EastEnders legend Natalie Cassidy. Davina McCall came closest, guessing Morgana Robinson, who does a mean impression of the Sonia actress
Bear – another success for new judge Maya Jama as she guessed correctly that the singing Bear was none other than singer, songwriter Example – real name Elliot Gleave.
Snail – this singer certainly fooled the judges as the mask was lifted to reveal Andrea Corr. Jonathan Ross admitted to being a huge fan of The Corrs.
Kingfisher – everyone was convinced this was Harry Hill, but the mask was lifted to reveal artist Sir Grayson Perry, who is known for his alter-ego Claire.
Teeth – this character baffled judges and viewers with their changing voice. They were finally unmasked as former Bake Off host Mel Giedroyc. None of the panel managed to guess it was her.
Tattoo – despite Davina McCall saying “you sound the same” after this character was unmasked, none of the judges guessed it was 80s singer Carol Decker, whose hit China In Your Hand was a No1 hit for five weeks.
Toad In The Hole – a massive diva strop saw the character storm off the stage after the judges voted them off. They later returned to be unmasked as singer Macy Gray.
Pegasus – the mythical horse was revealed to be Prue Leith, with judge Jonathan Ross correctly guessing her identity.
Spag Bol – this character was first to be unmasked and was none other than Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway.
Plus there was one extra unmasking this season, with Giant Joel – a caricature of host Joel Dommett – unveiled as double-double Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah.