# The Masked Singer (British TV series) series 5

The fifth series of the British version of The Masked Singer premiered on ITV on 30 December 2023, following a Christmas special episode on 25 December. Joel Dommett returned as the show's presenter, whilst Mo Gilligan, Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Jonathan Ross returned as panellists. The series is the second in a two-year commissioning by ITV.
The series was won by singer Danny Jones as "Piranha", whilst TV presenter Alex Brooker finished second as "Bigfoot" and singer Lemar finished third as "Cricket".

## Production

The commissioning of the fifth series was announced by ITV in February 2022, alongside the fourth series as part of a two-year contract. Filming for the series took place in October 2023 at Bovingdon Studios in Hertfordshire, with the public being invited to apply for tickets to be in the audience. The series began airing on 30 December 2023, following the show's first Christmas special episode that aired on 25 December and as in second series, would begin prior to the New Year.

## Panellists and host

Prior to the series airing, it was announced that Joel Dommett would return as presenter, with Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Mo Gilligan all returning to the panel. However, owing to Ora's scheduling conflicts with the eleventh season of the American version, in which she replaced Nicole Scherzinger, it was confirmed that Charlie Simpson, who won the previous series as "Rhino", Olly Murs and Jennifer Saunders would serve as guest panellists in her place for three episodes, with Simpson in the season premiere, Murs in the third episode and Saunders in the fourth episode. Ellie Goulding served as a guest panellist in the fifth episode. Lenny Henry, who appeared in the second series as "Blob", served as a guest panellist in the sixth episode. Lorraine Kelly, who was revealed as "Owl" in the fifth episode, served as a guest panellist in the seventh episode. Rob Brydon served as a guest panellist in the eighth episode.

## Contestants

The twelve costumes for the fifth series were released on 10 December 2023.
| Stage name | Celebrity | Occupation | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes |
| Stage name | Celebrity | Occupation | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Piranha | Danny Jones | Singer | | WIN | | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WINNER |
| Bigfoot | Alex Brooker | Comedian/TV Presenter | WIN | | SAFE | | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | RUNNER-UP |
| Cricket | Lemar | Singer | WIN | | SAFE | | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | THIRD |
| Eiffel Tower | Tiffany | Actress/singer/songwriter | | WIN | | SAFE | RISK | RISK | OUT | |
| Air Fryer | Keala Settle | Actress/Singer | | WIN | | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |
| Maypole | Melody Thornton | Singer | RISK | | SAFE | | SAFE | OUT | | |
| Dippy Egg | Nicky Campbell | TV Presenter | RISK | | RISK | | SAFE | OUT | | |
| Owl | Lorraine Kelly | TV Presenter | | RISK | | RISK | OUT | | | |
| Bubble Tea | Julia Sawalha | Actress | | RISK | | OUT | | | | |
| Rat | Shirley Ballas | Dancer/TV Judge | WIN | | OUT | | | | | |
| Chicken Caesar | Alexander Armstrong | TV Presenter/Actor | | OUT | | | | | | |
| Weather | Dionne Warwick | Singer | OUT | | | | | | | |

## Episodes
### Episode 1 (30 December)

* Guest panelist: Charlie Simpson (in place of Rita Ora)

### Episode 3 (13 January)

* Theme: Circus
* Group number: "Let Go for Tonight" by Foxes
* Guest panelist: Olly Murs (in place of Rita Ora)
Performances on the third episode :
| # | Stage name | Song | Result | Result |
| 1 | Dippy Egg | "There's No Business Like Show Business" by Irving Berlin | RISK | RISK |
| 2 | Maypole | "Clown" by Emeli Sandé | SAFE | SAFE |
| 3 | Bigfoot | "Come Fly With Me" by Frank Sinatra | SAFE | SAFE |
| 4 | Cricket | "Of the Night" by Bastille | SAFE | SAFE |
| 5 | Rat | "Nellie the Elephant" by Mandy Miller | RISK | RISK |
| Sing-Off | Sing-Off | Sing-Off | Identity | Result |
| 1 | Rat | "Y.M.C.A." by Village People | Shirley Ballas | OUT |
| 2 | Dippy Egg | "Shotgun" by George Ezra | undisclosed | SAFE |

### Episode 4 (20 January)

* Theme: School Disco
* Group number: "Live While We're Young" by One Direction
* Guest panelist: Jennifer Saunders (in place of Rita Ora)
Performances on the fourth episode :
| # | Stage name | Song | Result | Result |
| 1 | Piranha | "Treasure" by Bruno Mars | SAFE | SAFE |
| 2 | Eiffel Tower | "Angels" by Robbie Williams | SAFE | SAFE |
| 3 | Owl | "Don't Stop Movin'" by S Club 7 | RISK | RISK |
| 4 | Bubble Tea | "Le Freak" by Chic | RISK | RISK |
| 5 | Air Fryer | "The Final Countdown" by Europe | SAFE | SAFE |
| Sing-Off | Sing-Off | Sing-Off | Identity | Result |
| 1 | Owl | "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" by Middle of the Road | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 2 | Bubble Tea | "What's Up?" by 4 Non Blondes | Julia Sawalha | OUT |

### Episode 5 (27 January)

* Guest panelist: Ellie Goulding
Performances on the fifth episode :
| # | Stage name | Clue song | Identity | Result |
| 1 | Eiffel Tower | "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus | undisclosed | RISK |
| 2 | Dippy Egg | "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 3 | Cricket | "How Deep Is Your Love" by Calvin Harris & Disciples | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 4 | Owl | "Happy Talk" by Captain Sensible | Lorraine Kelly | OUT |
| 5 | Piranha | "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" by Michael Bolton | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 6 | Bigfoot | "Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger ft. Craig David | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 7 | Air Fryer | "The Lonely Goatherd" from The Sound of Music | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 8 | Maypole | "Sweet Melody" by Little Mix | undisclosed | SAFE |

### Episode 6 (3 February)

* Guest panelist: Lenny Henry
Performances on the sixth episode :
| # | Stage name | Song | Identity | Result |
| 1 | Maypole | "Let You Love Me" by Rita Ora | Melody Thornton | OUT |
| 2 | Cricket | “Antenna” by Fuse ODG | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 3 | Dippy Egg | "Moon River" by Andy Williams | Nicky Campbell | OUT |
| 4 | Bigfoot | "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 5 | Air Fryer | "Defying Gravity" from Wicked | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 6 | Eiffel Tower | "Stay" by Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko | undisclosed | RISK |
| 7 | Piranha | "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson | undisclosed | SAFE |

### Episode 7: Semi-final (10 February)

* Guest panelist: Lorraine Kelly
First performances on the seventh episode :
| # | Stage name | Song | Identity | Result |
| 1 | Eiffel Tower | "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 2 | Bigfoot | "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by Backstreet Boys | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 3 | Piranha | "Without You" by Harry Nilsson | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 4 | Air Fryer | "I'm Outta Love" by Anastacia | Keala Settle | OUT |
| 5 | Cricket | "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt | undisclosed | SAFE |
Second performances on the seventh episode :
| # | Stage name | Song | Identity | Result |
| 1 | Bigfoot | "Never Forget" by Take That | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 2 | Eiffel Tower | "Castle on the Hill" by Ed Sheeran | Tiffany | OUT |
| 3 | Piranha | "In the Name of Love" by Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 4 | Cricket | "As It Was" by Harry Styles | undisclosed | SAFE |
After being unmasked, Tiffany performed her cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" as her encore.

### Episode 8: Final (17 February)

* Group number: "By Your Side" by Calvin Harris ft. Tom Grennan
* Guest panelist: Rob Brydon
First performances on the eighth episode :
| # | Stage name | Song |
| 1 | Cricket | "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton |
| 2 | Bigfoot | "The One and Only" by Chesney Hawkes |
| 3 | Piranha | "Lay Me Down" by Sam Smith |
Second performances on the eighth episode :
| # | Stage name | Song | Duet partner | Identity | Result |
| 1 | Cricket | "Rewrite the Stars" from The Greatest Showman | Charlotte Church (Mushroom) | Lemar | THIRD PLACE |
| 2 | Bigfoot | "Dancing on the Ceiling" by Lionel Richie | Ricky Wilson (Phoenix) | undisclosed | SAFE |
| 3 | Piranha | "Believe" by Cher | Natalie Appleton (Fawn) | undisclosed | SAFE |
Third performances on the eighth episode :
| # | Stage name | Song of the series | Identity | Result |
| 1 | Bigfoot | "You're Welcome" from Moana | Alex Brooker | RUNNER-UP |
| 2 | Piranha | "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion | Danny Jones | WINNER |

## 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 7 days of the original broadcast.
| Episode | Date | Official 7 day rating (millions) | Weekly rank for ITV | Weekly rank for all UK TV |
| 1 | 30 December | 4.55 | 6 | 23 |
| 2 | 6 January | 5.19 | 6 | 14 |
| 3 | 13 January | 4.72 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | 20 January | 4.44 | 6 | 14 |
| 5 | 27 January | 4.42 | 4 | 12 |
| 6 | 3 February | 4.90 | 4 | 11 |
| 7 | 10 February | 4.77 | 3 | 11 |
| 8 | 17 February | 5.54 | 3 | 8 |
| Series average | 2023/2024 | 4.22 | — | — |