Julia Sawalha’s unexpected turn as Bubble Tea on The Masked Singer UK

By Josh Darvill Published 22 January, 2024 20:13

The Masked Singer UK took a nostalgic turn with its School Disco themed episode on Saturday night.

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The fourth episode of the new series featured new performances from five of this year’s contestants: Air Fryer, Bubble Tea, Owl, Eiffel Tower, and Piranha.

The panel, consisting of Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Mo Gilligan, and special guest Jennifer Saunders, were tasked with guessing the identities behind the masks.

In a surprising reveal, Bubble Tea was unmasked as actress Julia Sawalha. With her close friend Jennifer Saunders on the panel, Julia expressed her excitement and challenge in participating in the show.

“I wanted to do something that would really take me out of my comfort zone,” Julia said. ” I like to do jobs that actually I’m really terrified of because then they’re a big challenge. This lived up to that!

“I haven’t really sung before. I’ve done one programme a long time ago where I was impersonating someone, but no, singing is not my thing at all, so it’s really scary.”

Julia continued: “The panel’s guesses were just so hilarious. I couldn’t believe they thought I was Hannah Waddingham. I thought Jennifer (Saunders) got pretty close with Bubble (the character from Absolutely Fabulous). I think they did fairly well!

“I found keeping this a secret really easy because my friends just understand my work and when I say, “I can’t tell you,” they’re just like, “Okay.” My mum said, “If I guess, will you tell me?” And I was like, “No.” So, she left it. They’re all very good about it.”

And speaking about performing as Bubble Tea, Julia added: “My favourite thing about becoming Bubble Tea was just being able to be really playful and young, and people thinking that I was a young pop star when I’m a little older than that! ”