The latest series of The Masked Singer has gripped the nation once again, meaning our weekends have been 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, seven of the 12 celebrities have been unmasked, with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Mel B, Martine McCutcheon, Glenn Hoddle and John Thomson (didn’t see that one coming, did you?) all leaving the competition in the first few weeks.
More recently, we’ve said goodbye to Sir Lenny Henry (after weeks of the judges seemingly not clocking his extremely distinctive voice) and A-ha frontman Morten Harket, with fans sharing all kinds of theories about the remaining five stars left in the contest.
Here are some of the most popular ones…
Sausage
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 their more recent performances, though, it’s now pretty clear to us 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 they also described their 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 their “two lies and a truth” clue, Sausage also suggested her “hair colour is certified by law” – a less-than-subtle nod to Sheridan’s 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 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?
Robin also performed the above song when the contestants were each tasked with singing a track that served as a clue to their true identity.
Meanwhile, week five saw Robin doted on by crew members in 3D glasses (JLS had their own 3D concert film back in 2011), while the character commented that “the most exciting aviary is one with diversity”, while Aston and his bandmates previously teamed up with Diversity for a performance on Britain’s Got Talent.
In short, we think we’ve got this one in the bag. Or, more appropriately, the nest.
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 in 2018, which saw her crowned winner.
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.
In another of their VTs, Dragon said: “It’s like my journey started and ended with a giant winged costume.”
Drag Race fans will remember Courtney once stormed the runway in an outfit with enormous wings, which went on to become one of her most recognisable looks.
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.
Plus, there’s the matter of this video Courtney recently posted on social media:
Of course, at first glance it looks like an obvious clue to Courtney being under that dragon costume, but would she really be so blatant if she were actually on The Masked Singer?
However, Dragon’s fourth appearance gave us a brand new theory, when they teased that they’d eaten kangaroo anus, which we assume (and, frankly, hope) is their way of letting us know they were once on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!.
One star we immediately remembered eating kangaroo anus on I’m A Celeb was Carol Vorderman – which then put us in mind of a Dragon VT weeks earlier, in which the character walked past an hour glass that seemed to be... counting down to something.
Immediately after the kangaroo anus revelation, Dragon performed The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss), a track Vorders previously sang during an appearance on the very first celebrity special of Stars In Their Eyes in the 90s.
Following this, it was suggested Dragon is a radio presenter, while currently Carol has her own show on BBC Radio Wales.
Sadly, though, she already seems to have poured water on these theories, simply by addressing them publicly, which is not something we imagine someone who was actually on The Masked Singer would do.
Other names fans have mentioned online in relation to Dragon include Sue Perkins, Sandi Toksvig and Susan Calman, and as the weeks have gone on, we’re starting to think those naming Sue might be onto something.
For “Clues Week” – when the acts have to sing a track that relates to their identity – Dragon performed All By Myself, which could well relate to the fact Sue is best known as one half of a double act.
In summary... Dragon has got us completely stumped. Fair play to the Masked Singer team, we’re so far into the competition and we’re still clueless about at least one of the remaining characters.
Badger
There’ve been whisperings online since their very first performance that Badger might be chart-topping US singer Ne-Yo, but we had’t really taken them very seriously.
However, there’s no denying that as the weeks have gone on, the clues really have started to pile up...
And then came “Clues Week”, when Badger covered the Kelly Clarkson song Because Of You... which just happens to be the name of Ne-Yo’s second album.
In fact, the very first word out of Badger’s mouth was “Yo”. So it’s kind of been under our nose the whole time.
More recently, Badger was seen to have received a thank you note from Barbra Streisand, as well as nods to coding and having won lots of awards.
Ne-Yo was one of the guest performers when Barbra Streisand was recognised at the Kennedy Centre in 2016, and even set up a free coding school to encourage young people to become more tech savvy.
And as for his awards – why not check his page on the Grammys website?
We don’t know how they’ve done it... but The Masked Singer UK appears to have actually snagged Ne-Yo. Incredible.
Harlequin
While everyone on Twitter has been convinced that it’s Gabrielle underneath Harlequin’s disguise since the very first time she opened her mouth, one big clue early on in the series put us in a rather different mindset.
After her first performance, Harlequin revealed to the judges that she once played a male character in a musical, leaving us pondering whether she was actually Samantha Mumba, who played Teen Angel in Grease just a few years ago.
Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and admit you were wrong, and we’re finally ready to concede that yes, it probably is Gabrielle under that mask.
Before her second performance of the series, Harlequin made a cryptic comment about her “stories becoming legend, and even joining another famous story”, which many took as a reference to Gabrielle’s famous inclusion on the Bridget Jones’s Diary soundtrack.
During “Clues Week”, Harlequin performed Fast Car by Tracy Chapman, a track Gabrielle sampled on the original version of her breakthrough single Dreams (though this eventually had to be removed due to copyright reasons).
Harlequin has also commented on a link with a famous prince in the past, claiming they even “turned him down”.
Gabrielle has repeatedly spoken of her admiration for the late Prince, claiming he even once invited her to join him on stage at a Formula One Show, an offer it looks as though she didn’t take him up on.
And during Harlequin’s backstage clue, they were seen dropping something on the floor that their elaborate costume meant they couldn’t pick up again.
Yep, it was literally... out of reach.
Two more celebrities will be leaving this week’s episode of The Masked Singer, airing on Saturday night at 7pm on ITV.