The Masked Dancer finale provided viewers with an evening of non-stop surprises with each celebrity reveal, before gymnast Louis Smith was outed as Carwash and crowned the series winner.
But one of the biggest shocks of the night was the identity of Squirrel, who wound up in second place.
Not one of the judges – or many viewers watching at home – worked out that West End star Bonnie Langford was lurking inside the furry costume.
Over the last week, the Squirrel’s energetic dance moves had fans believing the celeb responsible was someone decades young.
After entertaining with high-kicks, splits and always flawless choreography, the most common guesses for Squirrel had been EastEnders actress Maisie Smith, 19, and former X Factor star Cher Lloyd, 27.
However, it was veteran entertainer Bonnie who was behind the mask.
“I love the Masked Singer and this seemed even more crazy,” she told the judges, who were in disbelief at her reveal.
Viewers at home were just as gobsmacked – not least when they discovered Bonnie’s real age, 56, and took to Twitter to share their reaction.
“Bonnie Langford is 56 and she can still lift her leg to her head and do the splits! I’m nearly 46 and I can’t put me trainers on without breaking into a sweat!!!!” joked one.
(Image: ITV)
“If Bonnie Langford can get her legs up that high at her age then there is hope for me yet,” declared another.
“Bonnie Langford doing the splits and high kicks at her age, while I get out of breath opening a packet of crisps,” laughed a third.
While another commented on the ages of a number of contestants who took part in the ITV series: “Proving age is just a number. Tamsin Outhwaite is 50, Howard Donald 53, Bonnie Langford and Craig Revel Horwood both 56 and Christopher Dean 63 . All absolutely smashed it on #maskeddanceruk ”
(Image: maisiesmithofficial/Instagram)
Bonnie shot to fame as a child star in the 1970s when she bagged a role on TV series Just William.
Her next major role came as companion Mel Bush in the BBC’s sci-fi drama Doctor Who.
Multi-talented Bonnie has also starred in a number of West End musicals and on Broadway, performing in the likes of Cats, The Pirates of Penzance and Chicago.
EastEnders fans will also remember Bonnie as Carmel Kazemi, a role she played from 2015-2018 and picked up the Best Newcomer award for at the British Soap Awards in 2016.
(Image: BBC)
The finale of The Masked Dancer saw Tamzin Outhwaite finish in fourth place as Scarecrow, Howard Donald be unmasked as Zip to finish third and Bonnie narrowly miss out on the top prize as she was revealed to be Squirrel.
Former Olympic gymnast and Strictly Come Dancing winner Louis Smith was unmasked as Carwash to win the contest.
After impressing over the last week with his flexible moves and back flips, Louis sailed into first place.
(Image: ITV)
The 32-year-old shocked the panel when he pulled off his mask and admitted that the show had been “bonkers”.
What asked what made him decide to take on the challenge, Louis said: “I love the singer version, I love dancing and I love performing.”
Revealing how he thinks it compares to The Masked Singer, Louis said: “I think this is a lot more physical obviously but I am definitely a better dancer.”
Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/masked-dancer-fans-disbelief-bonnie-24259001