{"id":490725,"date":"2026-01-04T01:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T01:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/490725\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T01:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T01:55:12","slug":"the-masked-singer-uk-contestant-cut-from-first-2026-show-due-to-potential-insensitivities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/490725\/","title":{"rendered":"The Masked Singer UK contestant cut from first 2026 show due to &#8220;potential insensitivities&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"1\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"1.0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/masked-singer\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/masked-singer\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"The Masked Singer UK\" data-node-id=\"1.0.0.0\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">The Masked Singer UK<\/a> <\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"1.1\">spoilers follow.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"4\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The Masked Singer UK returned tonight with the premiere episode of its seventh season, though a last-minute alteration to ITV&#8217;s scheduling meant that one act was cut from the broadcast, resulting in a shorter transmission.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"6\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/reality-tv\/a69810365\/masked-singer-joel-dommett-slip-name-christmas-special\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/reality-tv\/a69810365\/masked-singer-joel-dommett-slip-name-christmas-special\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"host Joel Dommett\" data-node-id=\"6.1\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">host Joel Dommett<\/a> introduced the panel of Mo Gilligan, Davina McCall, Maya Jama and Jonathan Ross, along with guest judge Anne-Marie, the group was ready to have their eyes and ears treated to some colourful renditions of famous songs.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"10\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">During the show, which is pre-recorded, they had six acts &#8211; Moth, Disc Jockey, Gargoyle, Sloth, Can of Worms, Red Panda &#8211; to listen to, though Red Panda was ultimately cut from the broadcast.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"12\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The decision was reached by ITV after the song which was performed on the night had &#8220;potential insensitivities&#8221; following the Crans-Montana bar fire in Switzerland, which tragically claimed the lives of 40 people.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"14\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;In light of the tragic events in Switzerland, we took the decision to remove Red Panda\u2019s performance on The Masked Singer UK in tonight\u2019s programme owing to potential insensitivities within the theme and lyrics of the song,&#8221; said an ITV spokesperson. <\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"mascot in firefighter costume against neon background\" title=\"masked singer 2026 red panda\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3500\" height=\"2000\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/masked-singer-red-panda-6959a07ee5dc5.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>ITV<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"17\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"17.0\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/reality-tv\/a63806290\/masked-singer-uk-2025-winner\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/reality-tv\/a63806290\/masked-singer-uk-2025-winner\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"The Masked Singer UK crowns 2025 winner\" data-node-id=\"17.0.1\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">The Masked Singer UK crowns 2025 winner<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"19\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The spokesperson, who shared the statement via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/entertainment\/masked-singer-act-pulled-due-to-potential-insensitivities-after-swiss-bar-fire-E4CQMUHVHBJEXIUJHI5FOZWB5Q\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/entertainment\/masked-singer-act-pulled-due-to-potential-insensitivities-after-swiss-bar-fire-E4CQMUHVHBJEXIUJHI5FOZWB5Q\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"The Irish Times\" data-node-id=\"19.1.0\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\">The Irish Times<\/a>, continued by explaining that viewers would be able to see Red Panda perform on the ITV series in &#8220;the coming weeks&#8221;.<strong data-node-id=\"19.3\"\/> <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"21\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">While Red Panda advanced in the competition, it was Disc Jockey, who had sung Chappell Roan&#8217;s &#8216;Pink Pony Club&#8217; earlier in the show, who was eventually eliminated from the series at the first attempt.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"23\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">After a tantalising wait, it was confirmed that <strong data-node-id=\"23.1\">Alex Jones<\/strong> was the person underneath the mask, with The One Show presenter saying: &#8220;I\u2019ve had such fun. I\u2019ve never sung in my life &#8211; in fact, it was a bit of a phobia. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"25\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;When I was little, I always used to have a cold and they just chucked me out of the choir. From then on, I thought &#8216;that\u2019s it, singing is not for me&#8217;. But I was convinced to do this because the kids love the programme so I thought, &#8216;okay let\u2019s do it&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"two individuals on a stage engaging with an audience\" title=\"masked singer uk joel dommett alex jones\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2999\" height=\"2000\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/masked-singer-joel-dommett-alex-jones-69599ed222506.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>ITV<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"28\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"28.0\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/reality-tv\/a63717375\/masked-singer-uk-eastenders-natalie-cassidy-example\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/reality-tv\/a63717375\/masked-singer-uk-eastenders-natalie-cassidy-example\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"The Masked Singer UK unmasks EastEnders icon\" data-node-id=\"28.0.1\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">The Masked Singer UK unmasks EastEnders icon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"30\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;It\u2019s been a big thing to overcome. Having that experience of learning with the [vocal] coaches has been amazing so there has been a lot of good take away from it. That\u2019s the thing with The Masked Singer, you are actually learning a new skill&#8230; I&#8217;ve loved giving it a go.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"32\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Jones, who has presented <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/the-one-show\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/the-one-show\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"The One Show\" data-node-id=\"32.1.0\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">The One Show<\/a> since 2010, quipped that it could be a &#8220;career highlight&#8221; due to the fact that it had taken her out of her comfort zone, with the star adding that the experience was something she would &#8220;remember forever&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"34\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"34.0\">The Masked Singer continues tomorrow night at 6.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"36\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"36.0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/masked-singer\/\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/masked-singer\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Read more The Masked Singer news on our dedicated homepage\" data-node-id=\"36.0.0\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong data-node-id=\"36.0.0.0\">Read more <\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"36.0.0.1\">The Masked Singer<\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"36.0.0.2\"> news on our dedicated homepage<\/strong><\/a><br data-node-id=\"36.0.1\"\/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-dynamic-svg=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/images\/logos\/lettermark.05d81be.svg?primary=%2523000\" loading=\"lazy\" data-testid=\"dynamic-svg-base\" height=\"100\" width=\"100\" alt=\"Lettermark\" class=\"css-7mevzh ev8dhu50\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Reporter, Digital Spy<\/strong> George is a freelance writer who specialises in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Movies<\/a> and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. \u00a0His film tastes vary from blockbusters like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/mission-impossible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mission: Impossible<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/john-wick\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">John Wick<\/a> to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.<br \/>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Masked Singer UK spoilers follow. The Masked Singer UK returned tonight with the premiere episode of its&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":490726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[3178,221280,1201,171,1200,221279,173,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-490725","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-content-type-news","9":"tag-contentid-8fa1be41-df24-48a3-9752-c8231896a9d1","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-locale-gb","13":"tag-shorttitle-the-masked-singer-uk-act-cut-from-first-2026-show","14":"tag-tv","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115834344226172120","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}