ITV bosses made a last-minute change to Saturday’s episode of The Masked Singer in light of the devastating Swiss fire which claimed the lives of 40
The Masked Singer chiefs made a major eleventh-hour change to Saturday night’s launch episode.
The ITV singing contest, where famous faces don elaborate outfits to conceal their identities whilst performing chart hits, unveiled a fresh batch of bizarre characters including Moth, Can of Worms, and Disc Jockey along with others. One mystery celebrity who was due to take the stage in the opening round was Red Panda. But bosses chose to axe their performance from the pre-filmed show following the New Year’s Eve disaster in Switzerland.
The Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, was engulfed in flames at 1.30am on January 1 as revellers – mainly young people – were celebrating the festivities.
Eyewitnesses described seeing bar staff bringing out champagne bottles with sparklers attached moments before the blaze erupted, reports Birmingham Live.
Following the tragedy, an ITV spokesman revealed to The Mirror: “In light of the tragic events in Switzerland, we took the decision to remove Red Panda’s performance on The Masked Singer in tonight’s programme owing to potential insensitivities within the theme and lyrics of the song. Viewers will get to see Red Panda perform in the coming weeks.”
The announcement came just hours after ITV revealed a small change to the evening’s schedule. On Saturday (January 3), the broadcaster used social media to tell viewers: “Update: Tonight’s episode of The Masked Singer will be airing at 6:40pm instead of 6:30pm!”, reports the Mirror.
The alterations caused worry among fans, with one viewer questioning: “Has there been a power outage at Television Centre or something?” Another joined in, highlighting additional scheduling changes by observing: “Extended news at 4pm.”
Others adopted a more playful stance towards the news, with one jesting: “It’s on later as somebody had to go home as they forgot their mask,” whilst another commented: “Thank you. I thought I was going to miss the first 10 mins,” reports the Express.
The beloved ITV entertainment show, which sees celebrities hidden behind extravagant outfits as they sing popular tracks, is due to return for a fresh series on Saturday evening.
Viewers and the judging panel – featuring Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Maya Jama and Mo Gilligan – must work to reveal each performer’s identity as the mystery stars display their singing abilities. In a first for the series, the opening two episodes will focus on an entire musical group, with the panel given the task of identifying the lead singer.
The show will kick off with Goldfish and their backing band No Trout, followed by Emperor Penguin and the Antarctic Funkeys in the next episode.
Discussing the new format, host Joel Dommett revealed: “We’ve never done it before and it just gives it so much energy in the room. Also the lead singer of the band is someone we have to guess.
“They’ve mixed the whole first two episodes and it has this energy which is really great. Also those first two unmaskings are pretty substantial.”
He added: “What I love about this show is if it’s funny, it’s funny, and if it’s not funny, I find it funny.”
The judges will also be tasked with identifying 12 other masked performers throughout the upcoming series.
Have you joined Threads? Follow Daily Star to keep up to date on all things showbiz here
Want all the biggest Showbiz and TV news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Showbiz newslette
