Weird Saturday night TV show The Masked Singer is taking the nation by storm.
And the secret of its success is – exactly that – the secret.
Performers in quirky colourful costumes sing for an audience and a star-studded panel.
The singers are famous people but we, and the panel, can only guess who they are. Week by week a star is unmasked.
The show attracts up to seven million viewers and, as the Sunday People reported last week, ITV has approved a second series.
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So why has such an odd show got its Saturday rival The Greatest Dancer running scared to an earlier slot?
We chatted to host Joel Dommett hoping to lift the lid on The Masked Singer and the identity of the star performers.
Speculation about the singers has grown to such a pitch that social media is full of celebs bluffing and double bluffing about who is taking part.
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But given some of the steps to maintain celebs’ anonymity their identities are almost anyone's guess.
Joel, 34, reckons just a handful of the show’s staff know who is in the disguises.
The comedian said the entrants performing for Rita Ora, Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Donny Osmond and Ken Jeong are made to wear helmets in the studio to obscure their faces.
But even that is not enough. Former I’m a Celeb contestant Joel said: “They also have their own rooms and wear hoodies which say ‘Don’t talk to me.’
“If they have a make-up artist or an agent with them they all wear them too.
“All the crew are guessing. I am in the dark. I have no idea.
“They have their own change areas and they can’t leave without seeing each other.
They are also all isolated from each other. Celebrities are now on Instagram saying it’s not them.
The show’s mad. It’s so interesting.”
So far, five of the stars have been revealed on The Masked Singer, whose final is a week on Saturday.
The latest star to be revealed was US singer Kelis, 40, who had a huge hit with Milkshake and has sold six million records worldwide.
The panellists and audience were stunned when the Daisy head was removed to reveal her.
When asked why she decided to sign up to the show, she told the panel: “People have just been telling me my voice was distinct.
"I thought I would give it a go.”
Other stars to surprise the show’s growing number of fans are EastEnders star Patsy Palmer, 47, the Butterfly, and The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins, 44, the Chameleon.
Former Home Secretary Alan Johnson, 59, was the Pharaoh, and football legend Teddy Sheringham, 53, the Tree.
Joel predicts there will be many more big names behind the fancy masks.
"He explains: “We are talking big people and the show needs that.
“We have had Kelis. Who knows? Elton John could be the Duck or it could be Theresa May. She’s out of work these days.”
Joel has admitted he has been eyeing up the wacky costumes for possible Halloween outfits.
He said: “Everyone is sexing up the costumes on the show a little bit. We have a kinky hedgehog.
"We won’t have to get any Halloween costumes this year.
"We have got some good ones now from the show already.”
He joked: “We can steal some from this year’s series.”
The Masked Singer format, which first aired in South Korea in 2015 with the title King of Masked Singer, has been sold to more than 20 countries.
Joel said: “Everybody is talking about it.
It has completely grabbed the nation. People’s first response when they first saw it was ‘Oh what is this rubbish.’
Now they are like “I can’t stop watching it. It is so addictive.”
“The show has landed in every territory it has been in. It is huge.
“I thought people would only be interested in the reveal at the end but people now love the whole show. It keeps people guessing.
“The show takes the mick out of itself. It is uncynical optimistic fun. It gets in your head and that is all we want.
“People say there will be a spin off called The Masked Dancer but I am not sure that is a thing.” Joel is loving all the intrigue being caused by the series. He said: “There are lots of double bluffs going on at the moment.
“We have had celebs deny it’s them and later putting things on Instagram saying it is them so nobody knows what is going on.
“The show has started a conversation and it is nice to go back to Saturday night television where everyone is talking again. It has started WhatsApp groups and guessing games.”
Joel, who presented I’m A Celebrity’s spin off show Extra Camp said: “Compared with other TV I have been involved in people are enjoying the uncynical silliness of it all. It is tongue in cheek.
“It takes the pee out of other shows that have come before it. It is not serious, you know. If you don’t like it then turn over.
“There is loads of television. It is fine if people don’t like it.”
He added: “It is such a pleasure to be part of it.”
Competing stars seem to be in it for the experience rather than any prize incentive.
Joel said: “They don’t win anything, which I think is very disappointing.
“They just get an illustrious trophy.
“It is a bit like the glitterball from Strictly. It is similar. It is quite a heavy trophy.”
Talking about a second series an ITV source said: “Producers would like to keep the same line-up as the show has gone down well.
“They hope it won’t be hard to convince them to do a new series.”
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