The first series of the British version of The Masked Dancer premiered on ITV on 29 May 2021, and concluded on 5 June 2021. The series was won by Olympic gymnast Louis Smith as "Carwash", with actress/dancer Bonnie Langford finishing second as "Squirrel", and singer Howard Donald placing third as "Zip".
Production On 4 March 2021, it was announced that ITV were producing a local version of the American television dancing competition The Masked Dancer following the success of its sister show The Masked Singer. The series consisted of 12 contestants competing through seven episodes. The series was commissioned as a replacement in the spring schedule for Britain's Got Talent, which had its upcoming fifteenth series postponed until 2022 due to health and safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The show premiered on 29 May 2021.
Panellists and host
Following the announcement of the series, it was confirmed by ITV that the panel would consist of presenter and comedian Jonathan Ross, television presenter Davina McCall, and comedian Mo Gilligan, who are all panellists on The Masked Singer, along with Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse. It was also confirmed that Joel Dommett would host the show.
Guest panellists included David Walliams in the fifth episode, John Bishop in the sixth episode, and Holly Willoughby in the seventh episode.
Contestants One of the shows sponsors, Lidl, had a product placement mask known as "Goose", who was unmasked to be Love Island winner Dani Dyer.
+ Results Stage name Celebrity Occupation(s) Episodes1234567 Carwash Louis Smith Olympic gymnastWINSAFESAFERISK WINNER Squirrel Bonnie Langford Actress/dancerRISKSAFESAFESAFE Zip Howard Donald SingerWINSAFERISKSAFE THIRD Scarecrow Tamzin Outhwaite ActressWINSAFESAFESAFEOUT Frog Kelly Brook Model/actressRISKRISKSAFEOUT Dancer/TV judgeRISKRISKSAFEOUT Llama Zoe Ball DJ/TV presenterWINSAFEOUT Beagle Christopher Dean Olympic ice dancerWINSAFEOUT Rubber Chicken Eddie the Eagle WINOUT Beetroot Dita Von Teese Burlesque dancerRISKOUT Flamingo Louise Redknapp SingerOUT Viper Jordan Banjo DancerOUT
Episodes Episode 1 (29 May) + Performances on the first episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Zip "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang/"Good Times" by Chic WIN 2 "Telephone" by Lady Gaga & Beyoncé RISK 3 Beetroot "I Put a Spell on You" by Annie Lennox RISK 4 Llama "Soul Bossa Nova" by Quincy Jones WIN 5 Viper "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz OUT 6 Scarecrow "September" by Justin Timberlake & Anna Kendrick WIN
Episode 2 (30 May) + Performances on the second episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Squirrel "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift RISK 2 Carwash "Car Wash" by Christina Aguilera feat. Missy Elliott WIN 3 Flamingo "Lady Marmalade" by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa, Pink & Missy Elliott OUT 4 "Hippy Hippy Shake" by The Swinging Blue Jeans WIN 5 Frog "Boom! Shake the Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince RISK 6 Beagle "Bang Bang" by will.i.am WIN
Episode 3 (31 May) +Performances on the third episode#Stage nameSong Result 1 Knickerbocker Glory "All That Jazz" by Liza MinnelliRISK 2 Llama "Bad Guy" by Billie EilishSAFE 3 Scarecrow "Timber" by Pitbull feat. KeshaSAFE 4 Beetroot "It's My Party" by Lesley GoreRISK 5 Zip "Jungle Boogie" by Kool & the GangSAFEDance-OffIdentityResult1 "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters SAFE2 Beetroot "Ex's & Oh's" by Elle King OUT
Episode 4 (1 June) +Performances on the fourth episode#Stage nameSong Result 1 Carwash "You're the One That I Want"/"Greased Lightnin'"/"Born to Hand Jive" from GreaseSAFE 2 Rubber Chicken "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)" by Lou BegaRISK 3 Frog "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel KamakawiwoʻoleRISK 4 Beagle "Hound Dog" by Elvis PresleySAFE 5 Squirrel "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" by BeyoncéSAFEDance-OffIdentityResult1 "Take a Chance on Me" by ABBA OUT2 Frog "Hey Ya!" by Outkast SAFE
Episode 5 (3 June) Guest panelist: David Walliams +Performances on the fifth episode#Stage nameSongIdentityResult 1 Frog "Little Shop of Horrors" from Little Shop of Horrors SAFE 2 Beagle "Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra OUT 3 Carwash "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars SAFE 4 Scarecrow "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran SAFE 5 Squirrel "Scream" by Usher SAFE 6 Zip "A Sky Full of Stars" by Coldplay RISK 7 Llama "You Never Can Tell" by Chuck Berry Zoe BallOUT 8 "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels" by Todrick Hall SAFE
Episode 6: Semi-final (4 June) Guest panelist: John Bishop +Performances on the sixth episode#Stage nameSongIdentityResult 1 Carwash "Singin' in the Rain" from Singin' in the Rain RISK 2 Frog "Shout Out to My Ex" by Little Mix RISK 3 Squirrel "Havana" by Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug SAFE 4 Zip "Use It Up and Wear It Out" by Odyssey SAFE 5 "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee/"Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran OUT 6 Scarecrow "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC SAFEDance-OffIdentityResult1 Carwash "Move Your Feet" by Junior Senior SAFE2 Frog "One Way or Another" by Blondie Kelly BrookOUT
Episode 7: Final (5 June) Group number: "Dancing in the Street" by Marvin Gaye Guest panelist: Holly Willoughby +First performances on the seventh episode#Stage nameSongIdentityResult 1 Scarecrow "Come Alive" from The Greatest Showman OUT 2 Zip "Super Freak" by Rick James SAFE 3 Squirrel "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj SAFE 4 Carwash "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock SAFE
+Second performances on the seventh episode#Stage nameSongIdentityResult 1 Zip "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang/"Good Times" by Chic Howard DonaldTHIRD PLACE 2 Squirrel "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift RUNNER-UP 3 Carwash "You're the One That I Want"/"Greased Lightnin'"/"Born to Hand Jive" from Grease Louis SmithWINNER
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 28 days of the original broadcast.
EpisodeDateOfficial 28 day rating(millions)Weekly rankfor ITV1 4.02 152 Outside top 153 3.67 144 3.41 155 3.75 136 3.98 127 4.65 7
References