The Masked Singer's Pigeon revealed to be heavily pregnant celeb leaving judges in shock

EXCLUSIVE: The Masked Singer might just be getting the Coronation Street treatment.

Dick Van Dyke proved he's still got it.  The 97-year-old was one of the stars unmasked during the premiere episode of Fox's "The Masked Singer" Wednesday night.  Van Dyke was singing as the Gnome, and as he revealed his identity host Nick Cannon remarked, "We are in the presence of an icon, ladies and gentlemen."  The audience and the panel of judges seemed stunned to see the legendary actor on stage. Nicole Scherzinger burst into tears as the rest of the panel, Jenny McCarthy, Robin Thicke and Ken Jeong, stood on the desk for a standing ovation.

Entertainment Weekly, “I was so positive that nobody would ever guess it was me, that they would have somebody 97 years old on there.“I would say it’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever done. But they didn’t put a mask on me.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when “The Masked Singer” unveiled one of the two costumed vocalists departing at the start of season nine.

is back, and kicking things off with one of the most unexpected and delightfully shocking episodes ever!The hit Fox reality competition mystery series kicked off its ninth season on Wednesday, helmed by host Nick Cannon and overseen by stalwart panelists Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy and Nicole Scherzinger.The show introduced fans to the first three performers of the season — The Mustang, The Gnome and Medusa — and revealed this season would be keeping the same format as season 8.This means, instead of one star getting revealed and the rest moving on, only one would be getting a chance to sing another day, and the others would all be taking it off after just one solo performance.The Mustang was the first character to hit the stage, rocking an all-black, leather ensemble and a giant, red-eyed horse head. She chose to showcase her vulnerable voice with a cover of Whitesnake's «Here I Go Again» which earned a massive standing ovation from the audience.After The Mustang wowed the judges, fans were introduced to The Gnome.After a fun clue package, The Gnome brought a smile to everyone with a lighthearted rendition of Billie Holiday's «When You're Smiling» which was a total delight from start to finish.«I wanted to say that your vocals, your voice, just melted my heart,» Nicole said after his performance. «You made this entire country smile after that performance.»Finally, Medusa hit the stage rocking a next-level costume covered in snakes and absolutely dripping with mystery and intrigue.

SPOILER ALERT – Do not read ahead if you have not watched the new episode of The Masked Singer!

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the Season 9 season premiere of “The Masked Singer,” which aired Feb. 15 on Fox. “The Masked Singer” kicked off its Season 9 on Wednesday night with one of its biggest stars yet — and also its oldest. Entertainer icon Dick Van Dyke, 97, was the celebrity under the Gnome costume, and was the first reveal of the night. Later, country music artist Sara Evans was unmasked as the Mustang. Van Dyke’s reveal reps the second season in a row where the first reveal came from a legend. In Season 8, “Monty Python” star Eric Idle and “Star Trek” mainstay William Shatner (who at 91 had previously been the oldest celebrity on the show) were revealed on night 1.

The Masked Singer is back for season nine!

The Masked Singer is back for season nine!

The Masked Singer is back for season nine!

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox and its Web3 media company Blockchain Creative Labs has launched “The Masked Singer Experience,” a new online, interactive community for fans, featuring live show voting polls, exclusive paid-member content, a points leaderboard and an online rewards store. The new experience went live at maskverse.com on Wednesday morning ahead of the “Masked Singer’s” primetime Season 9 premiere on Fox. Per Fox, “During episodes throughout the season, fans will be able to scan on-air QR codes to play along and vote on which character they believe will progress on to the next round.” This fan voting will not affect the series outcome, according to the network.

She was recently unmasked as Otter on the zany ITV guessing game The Masked Singer, and Daisy May Cooper drew compliments as she shared a very different look on her Instagram as she posed in her underwear. The Never Mind The Buzzcocks team captain and This Country star wowed as she posed in a black top and lacy pants in the mirror.

Cata Balzano Singer Laura Pausini is celebrating three decades as Italy’s top female artist, announcing on Feb. 14 that she will embark on a three-stop concert tour between the U.S. and Europe to take place within 24 hours. Pausini will perform ten songs in each city, representing each decade of her career. Pausini’s run will begin at 6 p.m. in New York City’s Apollo Theater on Feb. 26, where she will sing for one hour before hopping on a plane bound for Madrid to perform at the Music Station by 3 p.m. CET on Feb. 27. Her third and final stop will be in Milan’s Teatro Carcano, where she plans to begin performing at 11 p.m. CET. “This is a tour that, let’s say, begins and ends on the same day,” says Pausini of the outing named “#Laura30.” (All shows will be free and open to the public.) “This is also the retelling of my journey because I got started in Italy, then I went to Spain, and after I went to the United States. I had to pick three cities in each country. Initially, it was going to be Miami for the U.S. but I would not have arrived on time to Madrid and be able to do this whole 24-hour trip.”

Hit ITV show The Masked Dancer has been axed after just two series. The TV show will not return this year with another series despite proving to be hugely popular with viewers, as ITV have opted to air the Rugby World Cup, which begins in September, in its place.

Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora was revealed to have been the mystery celebrity singing in a jacket potato costume on The Masked Singer UK at the weekend.READ MORE: Mark, My Words: this is how The Masked Singer could become the greatest show ever made During his time on the show, Sambora had performed songs such as Elvis Presley‘s ‘Viva Las Vegas’, Leonard Cohen‘s ‘Hallelujah’, Fleetwood Mac‘s ‘Go Your Own Way’ and ‘Love Me Again’ by John Newman.After he was eliminated from the competition and duly unmasked, Sambora said: “I love being a guitar player and a songwriter. And of course I’m very privileged and honoured to have had so much success and the accolades of being a Grammy winner, an Ivor Novello Award winner and a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Songwriters Hall Of Fame inductee, but what I really love to do is sing!”“My hiatus from Bon Jovi and the Covid impact on my solo touring meant I could only do one thing which is make a new record until I saw The Masked Singer! I loved it and it was a lot of fun to watch it at a time where due to lockdowns and being forced to be at home the world was a little quieter than it had been since Bon Jovi kicked off 37 years ago.”Other musicians to have been ‘unmasked’ during this year’s competition include Lulu (Piece Of Cake), Claire Richards from Steps (Knitting) and Martin and Shirlie Kemp (Cat and Mouse).Sambora played guitar as part of Bon Jovi until 2013.

Coronation Street star Peter Gunn has been celebrating as he marked a milestone birthday on the cobbles. The actor is known to viewers for playing Weatherfield's Brian Packham. Peter joined the ITV soap back in 2010 when his romance with Julie Carp, who was originally induced as the girlfriend of Kirk Sutherland in 2008, began.

Fans of the Masked Singer think they have finally figured out who Fawn is as the show reaches its climax. On Saturday night, Fawn joined Jellyfish, Phoenix, Rhino and Jacket Potato in the semi-final - and survived to make the grand final of the ITV programme. Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Rita Ora and Mo Gilligan seem stumped as they try to reveal the Masked Singer's Fawn but there's one theory doing the rounds that is quite hard to ignore.

Kate Ferdinand and husband Rio Ferdinand enjoyed a special date night at the Brit Awards.The couple, headed to the O2 Arena in London, for a night dedicated to celebrating British music, where we saw the S Club 7 ladies reunite and Mo Gilligan mess up Lewis Capaldi's name. Kate, 31, brought the glamour to proceedings wearing a floor-length black dress that perfectly showed off her growing bump, with a long slit to reveal one leg, and sheer sleeves on her arms. She paired the dress with Jimmy Choo black stilettos.

Joel Dommett sent viewers into a frenzy when he made an X-rated joke during The BRIT Awards on Saturday night. The Masked Singer host caused fellow presenter Maya Jama's jaw to drop in shock as he made the "filthy" quip during the live show from London's The O2 Arena.

Glee star Amber Riley has become the latest celebrity eliminated on The Masked Singer.