The Masked Singer (British TV series) series 5

The Masked Singer
Series 5
Starring
Hosted byJoel Dommett
No. of contestants12
WinnerDanny Jones as "Piranha"
Runner-upAlex Brooker as "Bigfoot"
No. of episodes8
Release
Original networkITV
Original release30 December 2023 (2023-12-30) –
17 February 2024 (2024-02-17)
Series chronology
← Previous
Series 4
Next →
Series 6

The fifth series of the British version of The Masked Singer premiered on ITV on 30 December 2023, following a Christmas special episode on 25 December. Joel Dommett returned as the show's presenter, whilst Mo Gilligan, Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Jonathan Ross returned as panellists. The series is the second in a two-year commissioning by ITV.

The series was won by singer Danny Jones as "Piranha", whilst TV presenter Alex Brooker finished second as "Bigfoot" and singer Lemar finished third as "Cricket".

Production

The commissioning of the fifth series was announced by ITV in February 2022, alongside the fourth series as part of a two-year contract.[1] Filming for the series took place in October 2023 at Bovingdon Studios in Hertfordshire, with the public being invited to apply for tickets to be in the audience.[2] The series began airing on 30 December 2023, following the show's first Christmas special episode that aired on 25 December and as in second series, would begin prior to the New Year.[3][4][5]

Panellists and host

Series 5 panellists and host
Mo Gilligan
Davina McCall
Rita Ora
Jonathan Ross
Joel Dommett

Prior to the series airing, it was announced that Joel Dommett would return as presenter, with Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Mo Gilligan all returning to the panel.[6][7] However, owing to Ora's scheduling conflicts with the eleventh season of the American version, in which she replaced Nicole Scherzinger, it was confirmed that Charlie Simpson, who won the previous series as "Rhino", Olly Murs and Jennifer Saunders would serve as guest panellists in her place for three episodes, with Simpson in the season premiere, Murs in the third episode and Saunders in the fourth episode.[8][9][10] Ellie Goulding served as a guest panellist in the fifth episode. Lenny Henry, who appeared in the second series as "Blob", served as a guest panellist in the sixth episode. Lorraine Kelly, who was revealed as "Owl" in the fifth episode, served as a guest panellist in the seventh episode. Rob Brydon served as a guest panellist in the eighth episode.

Contestants

The twelve costumes for the fifth series were released on 10 December 2023.[11][12]

Stage name Celebrity Occupation Episodes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Piranha Danny Jones Singer WIN SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE WINNER
Bigfoot Alex Brooker Comedian/TV Presenter WIN SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE RUNNER-UP
Cricket Lemar Singer WIN SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE THIRD
Eiffel Tower Tiffany Singer WIN SAFE RISK RISK OUT
Air Fryer Keala Settle Actress/Singer WIN SAFE SAFE SAFE OUT
Maypole Melody Thornton Singer RISK SAFE SAFE OUT
Dippy Egg Nicky Campbell TV Presenter RISK RISK SAFE OUT
Owl Lorraine Kelly TV Presenter RISK RISK OUT
Bubble Tea Julia Sawalha Actress RISK OUT
Rat Shirley Ballas Dancer/TV Judge WIN OUT
Chicken Caesar Alexander Armstrong TV Presenter/Actor OUT
Weather Dionne Warwick Singer OUT
  The masked singer won their face-off and remained in the competition.
  The masked singer was safe from elimination.
  The masked singer was in the bottom three/two, but was not eliminated.
  The masked singer was eliminated from the competition and unmasked upon their elimination.
  The masked singer did not perform.
  The masked singer won the competition.
  The masked singer finished second.
  The masked singer finished third.
The celebrities who competed in the fifth series of The Masked Singer, pictured in order of elimination (L-R):
Dionne Warwick ("Weather"), Alexander Armstrong ("Chicken Caesar"), Shirley Ballas ("Rat"), Julia Sawalha ("Bubble Tea"), Lorraine Kelly ("Owl"), Nicky Campbell ("Dippy Egg"), Melody Thornton ("Maypole"), Keala Settle ("Air Fryer"), Tiffany ("Eiffel Tower"), Lemar ("Cricket"), Alex Brooker ("Bigfoot"), and Danny Jones ("Piranha")

Episodes

Episode 1 (30 December)

Performances on the first episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Maypole "Never Gonna Not Dance Again" by Pink undisclosed RISK
2 Cricket "Place Your Hands" by Reef undisclosed WIN
3 Bigfoot "You're Welcome" from Moana undisclosed WIN
4 Dippy Egg "Daydream Believer" by The Monkees undisclosed RISK
5 Weather "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash Dionne Warwick OUT
6 Rat "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!" by Vengaboys undisclosed WIN

Episode 2 (6 January)

Performances on the second episode[13]
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Air Fryer "Kings & Queens" by Ava Max undisclosed WIN
2 Bubble Tea "Material Girl" by Madonna undisclosed RISK
3 Owl "Padam Padam" by Kylie Minogue undisclosed RISK
4 Eiffel Tower "Voulez-Vous" by ABBA undisclosed WIN
5 Chicken Caesar "Under the Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers Alexander Armstrong OUT
6 Piranha "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion undisclosed WIN

Episode 3 (13 January)

Performances on the third episode
# Stage name Song Result
1 Dippy Egg "There's No Business Like Show Business" by Irving Berlin RISK
2 Maypole "Clown" by Emeli Sandé SAFE
3 Bigfoot "Come Fly With Me" by Frank Sinatra SAFE
4 Cricket "Of the Night" by Bastille SAFE
5 Rat "Nellie the Elephant" by Mandy Miller RISK
Sing-Off Identity Result
1 Rat "Y.M.C.A." by Village People Shirley Ballas OUT
2 Dippy Egg "Shotgun" by George Ezra undisclosed SAFE

Episode 4 (20 January)

Performances on the fourth episode
# Stage name Song Result
1 Piranha "Treasure" by Bruno Mars SAFE
2 Eiffel Tower "Angels" by Robbie Williams SAFE
3 Owl "Don't Stop Movin'" by S Club 7 RISK
4 Bubble Tea "Le Freak" by Chic RISK
5 Air Fryer "The Final Countdown" by Europe SAFE
Sing-Off Identity Result
1 Owl "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" by Middle of the Road undisclosed SAFE
2 Bubble Tea "What's Up?" by 4 Non Blondes Julia Sawalha OUT

Episode 5 (27 January)

Performances on the fifth episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Eiffel Tower "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus undisclosed RISK
2 Dippy Egg "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers undisclosed SAFE
3 Cricket "How Deep Is Your Love" by Calvin Harris & Disciples undisclosed SAFE
4 Owl "Happy Talk" by Captain Sensible Lorraine Kelly OUT
5 Piranha "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" by Michael Bolton undisclosed SAFE
6 Bigfoot "Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger ft. Craig David undisclosed SAFE
7 Air Fryer "The Lonely Goatherd" from The Sound of Music undisclosed SAFE
8 Maypole "Sweet Melody" by Little Mix undisclosed SAFE

Episode 6 (3 February)

Performances on the sixth episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Maypole "Let You Love Me" by Rita Ora Melody Thornton OUT
2 Cricket “Antenna” by Fuse ODG undisclosed SAFE
3 Dippy Egg "Moon River" by Andy Williams Nicky Campbell OUT
4 Bigfoot "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon undisclosed SAFE
5 Air Fryer "Defying Gravity" from Wicked undisclosed SAFE
6 Eiffel Tower "Stay" by Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko undisclosed RISK
7 Piranha "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson undisclosed SAFE

Episode 7: Semi-final (10 February)

First performances on the seventh episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Eiffel Tower "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses undisclosed SAFE
2 Bigfoot "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by Backstreet Boys undisclosed SAFE
3 Piranha "Without You" by Harry Nilsson undisclosed SAFE
4 Air Fryer "I'm Outta Love" by Anastacia Keala Settle OUT
5 Cricket "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt undisclosed SAFE
Second performances on the seventh episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Bigfoot "Never Forget" by Take That undisclosed SAFE
2 Eiffel Tower "Castle on the Hill" by Ed Sheeran Tiffany OUT
3 Piranha "In the Name of Love" by Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha undisclosed SAFE
4 Cricket "As It Was" by Harry Styles undisclosed SAFE

After being unmasked, Tiffany performed her cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" as her encore.

Episode 8: Final (17 February)

First performances on the eighth episode
# Stage name Song
1 Cricket "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton
2 Bigfoot "The One and Only" by Chesney Hawkes
3 Piranha "Lay Me Down" by Sam Smith
Second performances on the eighth episode
# Stage name Song Duet partner Identity Result
1 Cricket "Rewrite the Stars" from The Greatest Showman Charlotte Church (Mushroom) Lemar THIRD PLACE
2 Bigfoot "Dancing on the Ceiling" by Lionel Richie Ricky Wilson (Phoenix) undisclosed SAFE
3 Piranha "Believe" by Cher Natalie Appleton (Fawn) undisclosed SAFE
Third performances on the eighth episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Bigfoot "You're Welcome" from Moana Alex Brooker RUNNER-UP
2 Piranha "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion Danny Jones WINNER

Ratings

Official ratings are taken from BARB, utilising the four-screen dashboard which includes viewers who watched the programme on laptops, smartphones, and tablets within 7 days of the original broadcast.[14]

Episode Date Official 7 day rating
(millions) 		Weekly rank
for ITV 		Weekly rank
for all UK TV
1 30 December 4.55 6 23
2 6 January 5.19 6 14
3 13 January 4.72 4 12
4 20 January 4.44 6 14
5 27 January 4.42 4 12
6 3 February 4.90 4 11
7 10 February 4.77 3 11
8 17 February 5.54 3 8
Series average 2023/2024 4.22 —

References

  1. ^ "The Masked Singer recommissioned for further two series". ITV Press Centre. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  2. ^ "New series of The Masked Singer set to be recorded in Bovingdon and fans are invited for free". Hemel Today. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  3. ^ "The Masked Singer". ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  4. ^ "The Masked Singer season 5 cast: Confirmed line-up of characters". Radio Times. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  5. ^ "The Masked Singer: First look at the newest characters". BBC News. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  6. ^ "ITV's The Masked Singer announces return to screens sooner than you think". Examiner Live. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  7. ^ "The Masked Singer Unveils New Cast Of Characters – Including Its Most Unusual Costumes Yet". HuffPost. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  8. ^ "The Masked Singer: Jennifer Saunders to fill in for Rita Ora". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Olly Murs to 'replace' Rita Ora as panel member on The Masked Singer UK". Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  10. ^ "The Masked Singer 2023: who are the characters, judges and host?". Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  11. ^ "The Masked Singer season 5 characters and costumes revealed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  12. ^ "The Masked Singer 2024: Full line-up of characters and first clues revealed". Heart. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  13. ^ "The Masked Singer, Series 5, Episode 2". ITV Press Centre. 6 January 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Four-screen dashboard | BARB". www.barb.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2023.