Masked Singer Bosses Explain Last-Minute Removal Of Red Panda Performance

The Masked Singer bosses have opened up about the decision to pull a performance from Saturday night’s broadcast at the eleventh hour.

Over the weekend, the Bafta-winning celebrity singing competition returned for its seventh season, with the launch show originally billed to feature six famous contestants performing for the panel incognito.

However, mere hours before Saturday’s broadcast, it was reported that the show was being cut short by 10 minutes, and it was later revealed that one of the characters, known as “Red Panda”, would not be included as part of the episode after all.

As speculation grew about why the character was being removed, ITV later confirmed that the decision had been made in light of the recent fire disaster at a bar in Switzerland, in which 40 people were killed and more than 100 others were injured.

In a statement to TV Zone, a Masked Singer spokesperson said: “In light of the tragic events in Switzerland, we took the decision to remove Red Panda’s performance on The Masked Singer in tonight’s programme owing to potential insensitivities within the theme and lyrics of the song.”

They added that viewers would still “get to see Red Panda perform in the coming weeks”.

In their inaugural performance, Red Panda was seen in firefighter attire, while their performance of The Trammps’ Disco Inferno was still included in the version of The Masked Singer shown on the streaming service ITVX.

After the weekend’s double bill, The One Show presenter Alex Jones and rapper Professor Green have now become the first two celebrities to be unmasked.

Meanwhile, early speculation has suggested that the likes of Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan, reality star Sam Thompson and comedian Tom Allen are under some of the remaining disguises.

The Masked Singer continues on Saturday night at 7pm on ITV1.