‘It’s coming back!’ Davina McCall excitedly reveals series of two of The Masked Singer will be filmed this autumn with plans to include a studio audience as lockdown rules ease
Davina McCall has revealed that production on ITV’s The Masked Singer is set to begin in the autumn, following months of speculation amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
The 52-year-old TV personality, who serves as one of the judges on the runaway hit, also revealed that the show could well return with a studio audience, now that eased lockdown rules have reduced social distancing from two metres to one.
Speaking on her podcast Making The Cut, she excitedly shared said: ‘It’s coming back! We are going to start filming in September or October.’
Coming back: Davina McCall has revealed that production on ITV’s The Masked Singer is set to begin in the autumn, following months of speculation amid the COVID-19 lockdown
She added: ‘The audience situation will be easier with a one-metre rule. But things are changing so rapidly now with the easing that September is a lifetime away. It may well be that social distancing has gone out the window by that point.’
Davina’s confirmation of a schedule comes less than two months after Kevin Lygo, director of television at ITV, said that production on the popular singing competition would go ahead – though at the time he said they’d do without a live audience.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Fest, the TV executive added that casting for an array of new famous faces was already underway.
Audience: She revealed that the show could well return with a studio audience, now that eased rules have reduced social distancing from two metres to one. Host Joel Dommett is pictured
He said: ‘It looks like we will have to do some shows without audiences…. [it’s] more manageable for us in an enclosed guarded space.’
Lygo added that when it comes to casting the celebrity faces ITV want to ensure that every face is recognisable to the audience.
He added: ‘The challenge for the production company and us is that when the big reveal comes, you don’t go “who the f**k is that?”.’
Star power: The judging panel consists of (L-R) Ken Jeong, Davina, Rita Ora, and Jonathan Ross
The reality show originated in South Korea and its success spawned similar shows across the world including the UK and the US.
In the ITV series in January, former Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts was revealed as the voice behind Queen Bee and was crowned the winner.
Other celebrities who featured in the show were Katherine Jenkins, Teddy Sheringham, Jason Manford and Patsy Palmer.
Davina serves as a judge on the hit show, alongside Jonathan Ross, Rita Ora, and Ken Jeong.
Champion: The winner of the inaugural British series was Nicola Roberts, formerly of Girls Aloud, who had performed as Queen Bee