Actress Heather Morris has spilled all about her time on The Masked Dancer UK.
The final of series two on Saturday night Scissors was crowned the champion of the 2022 series.
The panel – Peter Crouch, Davina McCall, guest Dawn French, Oti Mabuse and John Bishop (in for Jonathan Ross) – oversaw proceedings as this series’ case came to a thrilling close.
After finding out they were the winner, Scissors was unmasked and revealed to be Glee superstar and dancer Heather Morris.
On signing up for the show, Heather said: “My kids and I have been watching the US versions since the beginning. They are obsessed with the show. They have made multiple masks that we have in our closet.
“I really did it for them. I’m down for doing anything so dancing in a fun costume was a challenge for me and I was just excited for that part of it.”
Speaking about her cutting costume, Heather shared: “My Scissors mask immediately gave me the most positive feeling. The love for her was instant; there were no second guesses. I immediately fell head over heels for her.
“For me the costume was a huge part of the decision process. I chose Scissors because it was slim fitting and was spandex. The head was the only restriction, which it genuinely was. You heard the judges make jokes about the big side ear which made me laugh because it was so true. When we would choreograph in rehearsal it was all about this big random side thing [on the mask head]. We had to switch positions so that I was in a non-standard hold for the ballroom [to accommodate it].
“The head was definitely its own character. It was the topic of conversation the whole time. We just didn’t know what was going to happen [when rehearsing each dance] with the head. In partnering we would have to switch the hold but it’s not like The Masked Dancer is a competitive dancing competition [the panel] were not like, ‘The hold was off, we’re deducting points.”
The actress admitted she found the secrecy “so difficult”, explaining: “It’s very hard not to say hi to the other contestants, we’re in hoods and completely covered up. With my kids it was super difficult because they are such big fans so I really wanted to tell them but now I’m so excited to show them because they are going to think that I am the coolest mum in the world.
“I cannot wait to see the costume heads that they’ll make. With all that said, I love secrets. I am the biggest secret keeper and if anybody tells me a secret it’s locked and loaded forever. So for me it was great because I love to keep secrets so I didn’t have any problems with anybody else except for my children who are aged 9-years-old) and 6-years-old.”
And on winning the competition, Heather reflected: “I was honestly so shocked and it feels so long ago now. It doesn’t feel like it did then, now it feels, ‘Yes I won the masked Dancer I’m so excited.’ But then it was, ‘Wait, what?!’ I was definitely shocked and I was surprised to find out who my competition was because I’m a big fan.
“I was surprised to see who everybody was, Adam and Bruno. I competed in front of Bruno and he judged me on Dancing With The Stars, it’s such a small world! Definitely shocked. This isn’t a competition show, it’s about so many other things. These other characters were really selling it and having fun with Joel. You just don’t know how the audience sees it, what they like and what song they love that week so it was fun and exciting and surprising.”
Meanwhile Heather also spoke about spending time in the UK filming the show.
She shared: “I definitely really miss waking up in the morning, walking downstairs from my flat and grabbing an espresso shot. Here I have to get in my car, I have to drive to the coffee shop. The coffee shops aren’t as cool and swanky as they are in the UK. Coffee shops in the UK are the jam. I miss that a lot.
“Let’s also talk about your style and wardrobe. I have memos in my phone about what I loved about my life in London. Everybody’s shoes were so fantastical, I was in awe of everybody’s shoes, so I went and bought three pairs.”
Heather added: “Funnily enough I didn’t get approached a lot. I really went out and about and saw so many sights. My good friend came and visited for a week and we went and did a lot of sightseeing. I lived the life whilst in the UK. I had a comicon in Liverpool and that’s where I got to meet all my fans and it was an excuse to be in the UK. It was set up before I got asked to be on the Masked Dancer, so it was the perfect distraction.
“I was with Matthew Morrison at the time as he’d come to the UK for Comic Con also. When I asked him if he wanted to hang out after the event, he said that he was going to Blackpool because Oti Mabuse has a show there and he asked if I’d like to go. I made my excuses because I knew the second she saw me that she would have guessed it and would just throw the whole thing off. I dodged a bullet. I kept my cool but it was a close call.”
The Masked Dancer is available on on ITV Hub.
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