The latest series of The Masked Singer is now in full swing, meaning our weekends are devoted to watching disguised celebrities performing random songs in elaborate costumes, while we frantically scroll through Twitter to get any ledes on their identity.
Listen, it might not be our ideal Saturday night activity, but there’s not a great deal else to do at the minute, is there?
So far, three celebrities have been unmasked, with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Mel B and Martine McCutcheon (all singers, we might add – awks), being sent home by the judging panel.
Nine contestants remain in the competition, with fans sharing all kinds of theories about the stars performing incognito on the Masked Singer stage.
Here our investigation into the most popular ones…
Sausage
We’re going to start with the most obvious. After the first episode of The Masked Singer, fans speculated that Sausage could be Stacey Solomon, Billie Piper (based on clues which we realise now were probably red herrings) or Sheridan Smith.
Following her second performance, though, it’s now extremely obvious that it’s Sheridan underneath that giant banger costume.
Sausage’s second VT included a visual clue alluding to Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps, one of Sheridan’s earliest TV roles, while she also described her career as a “balancing act”.
Throughout her time in the spotlight, Sheridan has explored a range of different fields, including musical theatre performance, TV acting, and more recently, presenting.
During her “two lies and a truth” clue, she also suggested her “hair colour is certified by law” – a less-than-subtle nod to her role in Legally Blonde: The Musical.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Sausage’s second performance was a rendition of And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going, which you can hear Sheridan perform for yourself below…
Sounds familiar, right?
Robin
Another of the more obvious ones, Aston Merrygold’s name has been linked with Robin since the very first episode, simply because the character’s voice sounds so much like the former JLS star.
The clues all add up, too.
In week one, Robin commented that he’s been “known to fly without wings”, a reference to the Westlife song of the same name, which Aston actually performed with the group during the X Factor final back in 2008.
Robin’s week three clues threw a lot of people off, as he discussed the fact he always fancied himself a footballer, who “puffed out my chest in pride” when he “represented my country”.
However, this does actually fuel the Aston theory, as the former Strictly Come Dancing star represented England in Soccer Aid back in 2012.
During Robin’s “two lies and a truth”, he commented that he began his career by performing impressions. Shall we take a little look at Aston’s first ever TV appearance?
Check the name of the song he performed, too.
Dragon
Many have speculated that it’s Drag Race and Celebrity Big Brother star Courtney Act underneath Dragon’s mask.
We’ll concede there is a definite possibility it’s Courtney. Her first VT saw her knocking over a doll’s house with money inside – which could definitely be a reference to her Celebrity Big Brother stint.
After their second performance, Dragon also referenced “an embarrassing incident with a famous shoe”, which many suspected could be a call-back to her CBB entrance, when she suffered an infamous wardrobe malfunction.
Dragon has also repeatedly put emphasis on the “drag” part of their name, while even the character’s rainbow stomach has fans pondering whether it’s a wink to Courtney’s status as an LGBTQ icon.
All this is definitely plausible, but one thing that makes us doubt is the fact Courtney has a very distinct singing voice, which we’re not totally convinced matches Dragon’s.
Other names fans have mentioned online include Sue Perkins, Sandi Toksvig and Susan Calman, but we actually have a theory of our own, that’s admittedly based more on the clues than Dragon’s voice.
During their second VT, Dragon walked past an hourglass, which immediately put us in mind of Countdown, and got us thinking about whether it was Rachel Riley under the mask.
What’s more, Dragon said they “met a boyfriend” through performing, while Rachel met her husband Pasha Kovalev on Strictly Come Dancing.
Just us, then? Alright. Moving on…
Badger
We’re going to be honest, Badger is one of the remaining masked singers we’re most stumped about.
His comment about being able to go around in public unnoticed certainly got people thinking outside the box, with guesses on social media ranging from everyone to Blur frontman (and Gorillaz creator) Damon Albarn to Strictly Come Dancing professional Kevin Clifton.
Here’s a selection of what’s being said online…
Another seemingly-unlikely theory is that Badger is actually chart-topping US singer Ne-Yo, which surprisingly kind of checks out…
…but surely not?
Harlequin
No sooner did Harlequin start singing than everyone immediately jumped on the theory that it’s Gabrielle underneath the mask.
We’re definitely not ruling her out, although we’re not sure how many of the clues actually point to the Rise singer. And we Gotta Tell You, we have a rather different theory…
After her first performance of the series, Harlequin revealed to the judges that she once played a male character in a musical.
And who’s done just that..?
Yes, Samantha Mumba, who played Teen Angel – a role traditionally portrayed by a man – in a production of Grease back in 2019.
Harlequin is keeping her cards close to her chest at the minute, her only other obvious clue being the fact she was seen reading a newspaper. Either this is a reference to her song Gotta Tell You… or we’re massively reaching.
Watch this space.
Blob
There’ve been a lot of guesses about Blob online and, interestingly, most of them are comedians.
In his first VT, Blob appeared to be causing havoc in a classroom, which led the panel to guess he could be either former teacher Romesh Ranganathan or all-round chaos machine Harry Hill.
Both are famous spectacle-wearers, so Blob’s “four eyes” comment could apply to either of them. But of the two, we’re more inclined to think about the former TV Burp host, as he co-wrote the ill-fated X Factor musical I Can’t Sing, and the masked celebrity did say they’d “recorded a demo for Simon Cowell”.
Another name that’s been repeatedly mentioned is Lenny Henry.
Lenny does have singing experience (he even sang backing vocals on a Kate Bush track), and played the comedy character Trevor McDoughnut on Tiswas, who wore oversized glasses.
As many have pointed out, Lenny does have experience playing a teacher on screen, too, which might explain the school theme.
Viking
Definitely one of our favourite costumes of the current series, Viking surprised viewers with a rather tender performance of Fleetwood Mac’s Songbird after what was quite an intense introductory VT.
Right off the bat, Viking raised eyebrows when he emphasised the word “voice”, leading some to speculate he my be Kaiser Chiefs singer Ricky Wilson, a former coach on the ITV talent show.
Since then, others have suggested it could be James Blunt under the mask. Viking referred to “another type of armour”, which some have taken to be a nod to the You’re Beautiful singer’s time in the army.
If you take a listen back to Viking’s first performance, the falsetto definitely sounds like James’, although if it is actually him, we reckon he’s trying to deliberately disguise his rather distinctive singing voice.
Bush Baby
OK, it’s honesty time. We haven’t got a clue who Bush Baby is.
The character has an Australian accent, though that might not actually be genuine, and they performed some class of magic trick involving a potato in their introductory VT.
The only other clue we’ve had is the fact “a lot of my wardrobe has been seen on screen”.
We’re absolutely at a loss, to be honest, so here’s a selection of what’s being said online…
Grandfather Clock
One thing that’s almost certain about Grandfather Clock is that he’s a former England footballer.
During his introduction, there were references to three lions, as well as football boots and another pair with spurs on them.
While names like David Seaman, Chris Kamara and David James were all mentioned by both viewers on Twitter and the judging panel, the penny dropped for many after Grandfather Clock’s final comment.
When the masked star said he has “never been an academic” but “has been called a genius”, many thought of footballer-turned-pundit Jermaine Jenas, who used to play for Tottenham Hotspurs, among other clubs.
It has to be said, Jermaine has been doing the rounds on quiz shows a lot lately, appearing on Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel and Miranda’s Games With Showbiz Names over the festive season.
The Masked Singer airs every Saturday night on ITV.
