‘The Masked Singer’: Donnie Wahlberg’s Cluedle-Doo Reveal Was Spoiled Weeks Beforehand

The Masked Singer introduced an unnerving new character this season: Cluedle-Doo, who turned out to be panelist Jenny McCarthy‘s husband Donnie Wahlberg. However, the secret was actually out earlier on if anyone had listened carefully. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Craig Plestis explained the spoiler that went unnoticed.

Plestis admitted it was a huge effort to keep his identity a secret, particularly from McCarthy herself. In fact, he said there were some clues that he thought would give it all away but somehow went unnoticed. “There were Easter eggs with Donnie all the way through the show,” he said. “Two episodes ago — just so you know, and no one’s picked up on this at all — we had a producer interviewing all of our contestants in the clue packages. So when we were doing it, I called up Donnie, and I said, ‘Donnie, I want to record you asking all the questions, and we’re not going to change your voice. We’re just going to put it on air and see if anybody picks up at all that that is actually you.’ And he did it!”

“We were trying to put like these little Easter eggs all the way through because that really is the DNA of our show,” Plestis continued. “He just loved playing the game all the way through and got a thrill out of it.”

Plestis was referring to Season 5, Episode 8 “The Spice 6 – The Competition Heats Up!” In it, the contestants’ clue packages were framed like interviews, though fans never saw the producers asking questions. Somehow, this change in format didn’t tip off anyone — perhaps because it was disguised by so many other changes to this season.

Cluedle-Doo numbered among those changes, and Plestis felt “it proved to be a great success.” When asked if the character might return in future seasons, he said: “Well, you know what, I think Cluedle-Doo was really a great success for the season. I’m not sure if Cluedle-Doo will be coming back next season, but maybe another character might be coming in Cluedle-Doo’s place. Let’s wait and find out.”

As for the upcoming season finale, his biggest message to fans was: “Don’t miss it.” He pointed out that last season’s winner LeAnn Rimes will be back as the guest panelist of the week, and revealed that she will be singing with the three finalists together. He continued: “It’s an action-packed episode. We’ve got three incredible performances. These are some of the biggest performances we’ve had all season. There’s three incredible unmaskings, and of course, one grand winner from those three.”