ITV The Masked Singer Christmas special: What time it's on, characters, costumes and new series

Rat has been revealed as Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas on Saturday’s The Masked Singer.The judges had guessed Claire Sweeney, Jodie Comer, Kerry Katona and Jodie Whittaker on the ITV1 reality show, which sees celebrity contestants sing while wearing costumes. Please check back regularly for the latest on this developing story as it is updated in real time here.

Fans of The Masked Singer UK are convinced they know who Cricket is - and are predicting a huge boyband star is behind the mask. Cricket was one of the debut show performances when the ITV series returned to screens on 30 December and after a week off to introduce the other half of the cast, he is due to sing again this weekend.The show is notoriously strict on keeping contestants' identities a secret until the moment they are unmasked, but despite a series of clever clues, some eagle-eyed viewers are sure that they have already worked out Cricket is Blue singer Simon Webbe.

With the fifth season of ITV's The Masked Singer finally upon us, fans of the singing competition have wasted no time in frantically guessing the stars behind the 12 costumes. Characters this year include the likes of Dippy Egg, Eiffel Tower and Chicken Caesar to name a few, but it's the Rat that has everyone talking as fans are convinced they know exactly who it is.

The Masked Singer’s Chicken Caeser has been unveiled following a tense battle in the hit ITV show, which kicked off last weekend. During the second episode of the popular ITV series, six new characters were introduced to viewers at home, but sadly it was actor and comedian Alexander Armstrong that was forced to leave the show after his performance as Chicken Caesar failed to impress the judges.

The Masked Singer UK viewers are convinced they already know Piranha's true identity.The show has only just returned to our TV screens, with a new line-up of masked singing celebrities unveiled last night, 6 January – Air Fryer, Bubble Tea, Owl, Eiffel Tower, Chicken Caesar and Piranha. Already fans have been blown away by the celebrities' singing voices and they're certain they recognise Piranha's. Helping out panellists Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Rita Ora and Mo Gilligan, viewers believe Piranha's true identity was McFly lead singer Danny Jones.

Alexander Armstrong has become the second celebrity to have their identity unveiled on The Masked Singer.

Chicken Caesar became the second celebrity to be unmasked on this series of The Masked Singer - but fans say the star was 'robbed' and claim the show is a 'fix'. The hit ITV show returned to screens on Saturday night (January 6) for the second episode of the brand new series.

The Masked Singer returned on Saturday night (January 6) with six more celebrity contestants taking to the stage to perform whilst hiding their identity. The opening episode of the new series of The Masked Singer aired last week and saw six characters go head-to-head - Maypole, Cricket, Big Foot, Dippy Egg, Weather and Rat - with Weather being unmasked as soul legend Dionne Warwick.

Davina McCall has been quick to defend her pal Olly Murs after he was axed from the judging panel on The Voice as she's argued that he's a "brilliant panellist".

Davina McCall has so many exciting things going on in her life right now, it’s hard to know what to ask her about first. For a start, the star is madly in love with her partner of four years, hairdresser Michael Douglas, who she got together with after her divorce from Matthew Robertson in 2017. But aside from being “very happy” in her personal life, the presenter is also a fixture on some of the biggest shows on TV right now, including The Masked Singer, My Mum, Your Dad and Long Lost Family.

Fans of ITV's The Masked Singer are throughly enjoying more crazy costumes, shock celebrity cameos and lively banter between judges Mo Gilligan, Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Jonathan Ross in series five, which kicked off on Saturday, 30 December. Sadly, Grammy Award-winning singer Dionne Warwick was the first celebrity to be voted off after host Joel Dommett revealed she was Weather.The Soul legend - who at 85 was also one of the show's oldest ever contestants - didn't seem to be surprised at the turn of events, though.

Viewers were left stunned on Saturday evening when one of the masked singers in the UK version of the hit show was revealed as music legend Dionne Warwick – and she was sent home after just one episode.

The Masked Singer has made a welcome return to TV screens with 12 brand new characters taking to the stage in a bid to be crowned the champion of the series. A new series of the hit ITV show kicked off on Saturday, 30 December, and fans have already been eagerly guessing which celebrity is behind each costume.

The Masked Singer's Davina McCall has been called out for "dissing" fellow judge Rita Ora live on air during the show's return on Saturday night (December 30). Host Joel Dommett announced that Rita couldn't join the ITV show due to prior work commitments, and was temporarily replaced by Charlie Simpson from Busted.

Partridge has been crowned winner of The Masked Singer for the Christmas Day special - with a very well-known celebrity hiding underneath the festive costume.

Davina McCall has shared that she finds The Masked Singer strangely emotional. The popular show is set to return for its fifth series on Saturday 30 December, with Davina returning as one of the show's celeb judges, alongside Mo Gilligan, Rita Ora and Jonathan Ross. Ahead of the new series, which will see celebs don disguises as Bubble Tea, Air Fryer, Dippy Egg, Weather, Eiffel Tower, Rat, Maypole, Owl, Piranha, Cricket, Chicken Caesar and Bigfoot, Davina has opened up about her time on the judging panel.

It's only been just over a week since the hit dance competition wrapped up its 2023 series but there is still plenty of glitter and sparkles left for the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.

On the night he lost Fox’s The Masked Singer and spoke to various news outlets about the upcoming one-year anniversary of his wife’s death, former Dukes of Hazzard actor John Schneider called for the public executions of President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the two-hour Season 10 Finale of “The Masked Singer,” which aired Dec. 20 on Fox. Because of you, Ne-Yo just had the time of his life on Fox’s “The Masked Singer.” The artist won the Season 10 finale of the hit series on Wednesday night, becoming the last celebrity to be unmasked this season. Ne-Yo won by performing “Rhythm Nation,” by Janet Jackson; “Take a Bow,” by Rihanna, before being revealed as Cow.

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the Season 10 finale of The Masked Singer, including the identity of Cow.