The best guessing game show on TV is back for its sixth series, and this time it’s bigger and, according to returning panellist Davina McCall, ‘sillier than ever’. Davina, 57 – who had surgery to remove a benign brain tumour in November – is thrilled to be back, and teases that we’re in for the most entertaining series of The Masked Singer yet.
What has stood out for you this series?
It’s been really nice having Maya [Jama] on the panel, she’s really good fun. She’s thrown herself in at the deep end and is smashing it! I miss Rita [Ora], obviously we’d all worked together for so long and Maya had big shoes to fill, but she’s filled them brilliantly.
Who would win the title for the most comedic costume in this series?
The fact that we’ve called somebody Bush this year is too funny. Being called Bush every five minutes by Joel [Dommett] makes me laugh so much.
Who’d win best detective?
Mo [Gilligan] is doing really well this series. He’s got the luck of the devil! He’ll suddenly just say, ‘I’ve just listened to the voice and I think it’s this person.’ It’s so unfair! He suddenly pulls it out of the bag. I’ve got 10 pages of notes and he has one name written down.
Who’d win the award for the most outlandish guesses?
Obviously Jonathan. We’re still getting Mary Berry. If you’re a friend of Mary Berry’s, please go and knock on her door and ask if she’d like to be on The Masked Singer because we need her!
Who would win the title for best performance?
I don’t want to give too many spoilers, but this series, one of our characters who had felt a bit shy at the beginning of this series pulled out a rap that was quite extraordinary. They sing Summertime and they did the whole Will Smith rap perfectly. It was really good! This singer is really impressive.
Is there a dramatic unmasking that leaves you all gobsmacked?
What was quite funny is there is somebody who we have guessed a lot for every other series who was finally on this series and none of us guessed them. That was quite annoying!
Would you agree that this year bigger and better?
Yes! I’m really enjoying the way that we change it up every series. This series we get to have fun with the dancers, and we get to dress up loads. It’s really good fun. I feel like it’s sillier at the moment, but we all embrace the silliness.
Are there guest panellists joining the series this year?
Yes, and it’s always very nice to have somebody new just going, ‘What on earth is going on?’ Suranne Jones was lovely to have as a guest because she watches the show, and her eight-year-old son was in the audience and couldn’t believe that his mum was on the panel. It’s nice having someone on with us, but it’s equally as nice when it's just the four of us.
The new series of The Masked Singer begins 4 January on ITV and ITVX