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From disco in the kitchen to cheesy quiz shows. Somewhat embarrassing for a professional popstrel, Sophie Ellis-Bextor became the first celebrity to be removed from The Masked Singer (ITV). Forget the dance floor, this was murder on the shiny studio floor.
Disguised as an alien with metallic dreadlocks, Ellis-Bextor certainly failed to fool many viewers. Social media was lit up with correct guesses, thanks to her overly recognizable voice and some obvious clues, even though they were supposed to be more difficult for this second series.
The crime scene tape in its introductory video was a nod to Ellis-Bextor’s 2001 hit. Murder on the dance floor. A mention of how he had “won a battle” referred to his cameo in game of ThronesArmy Of The Dead episode. It was very unfortunate that this bull run hero, whose weekly Instagram live streams lifted our spirits this spring, was eliminated so early. Yet somehow, it was terribly 2020 too.
Yes, the surreal singing contest came back with a bang. Literally because it featured a 6-foot-tall anthropomorphic sausage, singing a blues ballad of Rag’n’Bone Man behind an icy smile.
No, this was not a fever dream after enjoying the festive stilton too much. It was the return of the format that claimed to be “the biggest new entertainment show of 2020” (not difficult, frankly). After a year of all of us wearing masks for completely different reasons, it was also accidentally timely.
This series was filmed in September, with the identities of the participants kept a closely guarded secret. Mask gags aside, other signs of the pandemic were methacrylate screens between the judges and the studio audience seated in socially distanced bubbles, with less flamboyant facial coverings.
For all intents and purposes, though, it was all business as usual: a conspicuously rococo karaoke contest where the goal, amid the endless commercial breaks, was to find out which singing celebrities lurked beneath those giant kitschy outfits.
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