Viewers of The Masked Singer were baffled when regular judge Mo Gilligan was noticeably absent from the semi-final episode on ITV, where Bush and Bear were eliminated.
The beloved comedian and usual panel member of the popular series was substituted by the distinguished actor Richard E. Grant for the Saturday evening show.
With no explanation for Mo’s disappearance provided by host Joel Dommett, fans turned to social media in search of answers.
One perplexed fan tweeted: “No Mo and no mention why??” Another queried: “Why have they not addressed Mo’s absence? ” A third speculated: “I wonder where Mo gillian is #MaskedSingerUK,” and further tweets reflected the confusion with questions like “#MaskedSingerUK where’s mo tonight?” and a simple plea of “Where’s Mo?!”.
However, the mystery surrounding Mo’s absence has been clarified; due to prior commitments, he will also miss next Saturday’s finale which will showcase performances from Dressed Crab, Pufferfish, and Wolf. Mo was bound by a series of US tour dates, finding himself in New Orleans during this week’s episode for his “In The Moment World Tour.”
The Mirror reports confirmation of his whereabouts comes from Mo’s own Instagram post, where he shared footage from his hotel room in New Orleans. Danny Jones, also known as last year’s champion and the recent winner of I’m A Celebrity, will step in for the grand finale.
The semi-final of Saturday night’s show saw two more contestants unmasked and eliminated ahead of next week’s final. Rapper Example and EastEnders actress Natalie Cassidy were revealed as the Bear and Bush characters respectively.
Example, whose real name is Elliot Greave, was voted off after a soulful rendition of Elvis Costello’s She.
Maya Jama, host of Love Island, successfully identified the musician, while fellow panellist Jonathan Ross incorrectly guessed Louis Theroux. Davina McCall speculated it could be comedian Romesh Ranganathan, and Richard E.
Grant suggested Handmaid’s Tale actor Joseph Fiennes. Cassidy, on the other hand, delivered a heartfelt performance of Abba’s Thank You For The Music, but the panel failed to recognise her. Grant thought Harry Potter actress Miriam Margolyes was behind the mask, while Jama and Ross initially agreed on EastEnders’ Maisie Smith before Ross changed his guess to Coronation Street’s Angela Griffin.
McCall, meanwhile, suggested comedian Morgana Robinson. In last week’s episode, two contestants were eliminated in a double unmasking ahead of the semi-final. Kingfisher was revealed to be Sir Grayson Perry, and singer Andrea Corr of The Corrs was unveiled as Snail. Dressed Crab, Pufferfish and Wolf will battle it out in next week’s grand finale.
The Masked Singer airs on Saturday night on ITV and ITVX