‘The Masked Singer’ Crowns Pop Star Actress as Latest Champion

While we’re still waiting for the premiere of The Masked Singer in the U.S., the version from across the pond just wrapped up with a trio of big reveals. The champion for the 2022 season of The Masked Singer U.K. turned out to be a favorite singer and actress from the past: Natalie Imbruglia.

The “Torn” singer is also one of the success stories from the potentially canceled in Australia, but her win on The Masked Singer might earn a spot on that resume. Also revealed in second place was Charlotte Church as the Mushroom, preceded by Westlife star Mark Feehily as the Robobunny.

According to The Daily Star, the Panda has been one of the more perplexing contestants on the show for the judges and fans. They were also quite impressive with their performances, singing “Levitating” from Dua Lipa week one, Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff,” and then “Story of My Life” by One Direction.

The final episode of the season was memorable for numerous reasons. The final performances were the marquee event, but the show saw the previous season’s winner, Joss Stone, return to sit with the judges, Rita Ora, Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross and Mo Gilligan.

Until the final, speculation around the identity of the Panda targeted a number of famous ladies in the U.K. under the mask. Britain’s Got Talent stars Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon were named as possibilities, the former Cheryl Cole from Girls Aloud was also named, and Imbruglia to round out the guesses.

The season did see a little bit of drama with potential contestants. Comedian Rob Beckett teased that he was one of the contestants earlier in the season, keeping the joke up throughout the week and into the night of the new episode’s premiere. He was forced to clear the air and reveal he had nothing to do with the show.

The American Masked Singer will return on March 9 for its 7th season, with the theme playing out as The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly. The season was already spoiled a bit, with one of the contestants revealed to be Rudy Giuliani. This prompted a walk-out from some of the judges and plenty of criticism online, eclipsing the ire drawn from Sarah Palin’s prior appearance on the show.