Get ready for more weird and wonderful costumes and jaw-dropping routines, because The Masked Dancer is back on our screens.
For the spin-off’s second season, Peter Crouch will be taking over Mo Gilligan’s spot on the judging panel, joining Oti Mabuse, Davina McCall and Jonathan Ross as they attempt to work out which celebrities are hiding behind the intricately crafted outfits.
This time around, host Joel Dommett has promised that “the names are bigger than better and ever” and admitted that the show has “gone full ham for weirdness”. So, just when you thought that The Masked Dancer couldn’t get any weirder, it goes and ups the strangeness stakes.
Want proof? One of this season’s contestants is named Onomatopoeia, inspired by words which sound like the thing they are describing.
Confused? Us too, but that’s all part of the joy of the show. Here’s everything we know about Onomatopoeia so far.
Who is The Masked Dancer’s Onomatopoeia?
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ITV has promised that Onomatopoeia will be “dancing to their own tune” when the competition kicks off, and Dommett has praised their fancy footwork.
“Onomatopoeia is another great costume and this person is a great dancer,” he said. “They can really move, so I’m excited to see who is hiding behind the mask because I have absolutely no idea.”
Their get-up is certainly eye-catching. Onomatopoeia’s brightly coloured, comic book-inspired outfit is covered in words like “pow” and “bam”, with their face covered by an explosive “boom” headpiece.
But does it offer us any clues about the contestant’s identity? A high-concept disguise like this one is always hard to unpick, but surely whoever’s hiding behind the mask, they’re almost certainly a lover of words (and they’re probably pretty good at spelling…)
Crouch admitted that his sneaky attempts to get a better look at the dancer were foiled. “During their performance, Onomatopoeia was next to me when they started their routine and I was trying to see through the costume, which you can’t,” he said. “We’re trying to get clues all the time.”
When does The Masked Dancer start?
The Masked Dancer returned to ITV on Saturday 3rd September at 6:30pm, when returning judge Mabuse promised that this season’s unmaskings will be more shocking than ever.
“There was literally one where I didn’t speak because I was so gobsmacked,” she said. “I just couldn’t fathom how they were literally on the show dancing!” Bring it on.
The second episode will air on ITV on Saturday 10th September at 6:50pm.
The Masked Dancer is airing on ITV this autumn. To find out what else is on, check out our TV Guide or visit our hub for more Entertainment news.
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