IT’S been just over a year since ITV decided to “rest” The Masked Dancer after just two series.
Now I can reveal it is more “rest in peace” as bosses have made the choice to kill off the show, which first aired in 2021 with Joel Dommett as host.
The good news is that the programme which inspired it, The Masked Singer, will definitely be returning for a sixth season next year.
A TV insider said: “The Masked Dancer was always something of a tricky sell.
“But ITV thought it was worth taking a punt on a concept which had clearly struck a chord with the public as The Masked Singer.
“But they made the mistake of shifting it from a show that ran every night over a week, to a weekly show that aired on a Saturday night.
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“That saw it go out on the same evening as Strictly Come Dancing, which is a very challenging rival.”
Thankfully it is not all bad news as host Joel has struck gold with his quiz show, In With A Shout.
ITV yesterday confirming that it would be returning for a second instalment.
And The Masked Singer — with panellists Mo Gilligan, Jonathan Ross, Rita Ora and Davina McCall — has remained a runaway success.
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The second episode of the fifth and most recent series — which was won by Danny Jones — had a very impressive five million tuning in.
And to be fair, almost all of them guessed it was the McFly singer from the start.
THE lads from Boyzone are following in Hollywood’s Ryan Reynolds’ footsteps by turning their purchase of a semi-professional football club into their very own TV series.
After I previously revealed that the Nineties boy band were signing up to work alongside the Lancashire based club – they were seen for the first time supporting pitch-side.
The latest celeb faces to pump money into the beautiful game, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy and former Westlife star Brian McFadden smiled as they signed their contracts.
Putting their hopes to make their own Welcome To Wrexham style documentary series into action, they were joined by a camera and sound crew, as well as the team’s players.
Brian said of his involvement with the club last month: “I love the romance of it, I love the idea of getting involved in the club, especially a club like Chorley that belongs to the community.”
THE Gladiators have revealed just what it takes to stay in top shape ahead of the show’s finale on BBC One this Saturday.
While Apollo chows down daily on food with an average of 4,000 calories, Sabre does 20 hours of intensive training per week to keep her physique in prime condition.
A close call for Joshers
E4’S latest reality experiment The Underdog: Josh Must Win lands tonight – but the wheels almost came off just as the show was getting started.
Nick Grimshaw, Vicky Pattison, Amber Gill and Pete Wicks are charged with pulling the strings behind the scenes to help one man – Josh – win a popularity contest.
But the four celebs almost got rumbled in the early stages.
At one point, a contestant called Miles suspects something is afoot.
Piecing together clues, he says: “I think that one of us is here with a job to do.”
Nick gasps: “Wow, this could be dangerous!”
Pete adds: “Miles is the biggest threat to us, it might be time to get him out of there.”
This sounds like it could be a good ’un.
The show begins tonight on E4 at 9pm.
Bey’s hit for Gino
GINO D’ACAMPO has revealed he had to ring up Beyonce for permission to use her song – in a supermarket campaign about vegetables.
The telly chef surprised shoppers last week by joining them for a jig in the shopping aisles, while encouraging them to reduce their food waste by buying loose, and not plastic-packaged, produce.
The campaign saw him take the hands of shoppers as they reached in for loose carrots, bananas, and potatoes to raise awareness for Food Waste Action Week.
But in order to use Single Ladies, dubbed Single Veggies for the promo, he had to ask the pop singer directly.
He said: “Thank you to Beyoncé for allowing us to use the song, which is great – not an easy task, I have to say! I had to call her to ask permission.”
Gwyn so slovenly
MEDITATION isn’t quite enough to give Gwyneth Paltrow the brain break she feels she needs.
While sticking to her Goop lifestyle mantra, which includes a regime of healthy eating and mindfulness, she also kicks back to tune in to “rubbish” on the weekends.
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She told The Sunday Times Style Magazine: “I love on a Sunday to not do anything, watch rubbish TV and not make dinner and order in food. I need one slovenly day.
“I watch Love Is Blind, which is like so f***ing terrible, but I can’t stop watching it, and there are these dating shows on Netflix, like Love On The Spectrum. I had not seen a reality TV show until Covid – now it’s a slippery slope.”
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Rod McPhee
