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The winner of The Masked Singer UK 2023 has been crowned, people… and it’s only Charlie Simpson!
Yes, Rhino was the final contestant to be unmasked, after fooling everyone for weeks and amazing us with his performances.
Judges Rita Ora, Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, and Mo Gilligan, along with guest panelist Lee Mack, were left stunned when the star’s mask came off, but delighted to award Rhino the crown.
His win came after All Saints star Natalie Appleton finished in third place in the first reveal of the night.
Meanwhile, Ricky Wilson of Kaiser Chiefs narrowly missed out on first place, landing runner-up as Phoenix.
Judge Jonathan in particular, as well as the studio audience, was convinced Rhino was James Arthur due to his distinct voice, while there were also guesses of George Ezra and Jason Orange.
Rita and Davina, though, were desperate for Rhino to be Charlie, having picked up on several references to his identity in the clue packages.
From an equation equalling 3,000 as a nod to Busted’s hit Year 3,000, to the word ‘breakthrough’ referencing their ‘breakthrough’ award at the Brits, the signs were there all along!
Charlie, aka Rhino, gave the most powerful performances in the final, including a cover of Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi.
Rhino also duetted with Gabrielle, who previously competed as Harlequin.
Charlie admitted he ‘never expected’ to win the show, joking that his biggest fear was forgetting his lyrics!
Speaking in a Q&A post-reveal, he said: ‘I never expected to win, to be honest, but I just wanted to give it my best. I had no idea who I was actually up against and didn’t really hear the other people sing as we were kept away from each other during filming.’
Charlie added: ‘I was very happy when Joel called my name. I have never been in a singing competition before so I found the whole thing quite surreal.’
On feeling sad to say goodbye to his costume, he said: ‘It was sad to say goodbye to Rhino. You grow quite attached to your character during the show as you spend so much time with the costume.
‘Sometimes I’d just be on my own in the dressing room waiting for my performance slot and have his face just staring back at me.’
Charlie now joins Girls Aloud’s Nicola Roberts as Queen Bee, Joss Stone as Sausage, and Natalie Imbruglia as winners of the ultimate guessing game.
The Masked Singer is available to stream on ITVX.
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