Shirley Ballas has revealed all about her time dressed as a Rat on The Masked Singer.
The Masked Singer continued on Saturday night with a Circus themed episode, featuring contestants Maypole, Cricket, Bigfoot, Rat, and Dippy Egg, who kept the audience entertained with their exceptional performances.
The panel for the night comprised Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Mo Gilligan, and guest panellist Olly Murs.
In a surprising turn of events, Rat was revealed to be none other than dance legend and Strictly Head Judge, Shirley Ballas.
Shirley expressed her delight and surprise at the panel’s guesses.
“I was very flattered actually because I just don’t sing at all and some of the people that you were saying, was like Wow! It was one of the best times of my life. It was way out of my comfort zone and I totally loved it,” she said.
When asked about a clue relating to tattoos by Olly Murs, Shirley humorously revealed: “I have tattoos all over my backside! And I tattooed my boyfriend’s name on it, not sure that was a good idea!”
Shirley shared her reasons for participating in The Masked Singer, saying: “I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and see exactly if I could sing a little bit, could I hold a tune or was I just drastically bad!?”
Regarding the panel’s guesses, she commented: “I thought the guesses from the panel were actually rather spectacular. They compared me to actors and singers, all sorts, and never got any of the clues! I was very surprised about Jonathan. I mean, Jonathan’s a friend of mine. I’ve been on his shows and we’ve talked about Kilimanjaro, some of those clues he should have known and he didn’t get it! They were so off, they called me some amazing singers and actors! I’ll take that!”
When asked if being a dancer helped with her performance, Shirley believed it did, especially with rhythm and staying in tune.
The best and worst parts of performing in the costume? Shirley revealed: “The worst part of performing in the costume is the head gets very hot, it feels quite claustrophobic. The best thing is that I’ve fallen in love with Rat and actually don’t want to leave him. I want him to be in my house! He’s a character I will hold close to my heart forever. I enjoyed my journey with Rat!”
Finally, she thinks that “the whole nation will be totally surprised to see it’s me because the character is not the most feminine character… I’ll be surprised if anyone gets it at all!”
The show is set to continue next week with a ‘School Disco’ theme. The guest panellist will be actress and comedian Jennifer Saunders. Characters including Air Fryer, Bubble Tea, Owl, Eiffel Tower, and Piranha will be taking to the stage, hoping to deceive both the panel and viewers at home.
The Masked Singer airs Saturdays at 7PM on ITV1, ITVX & STV.
