The Masked Singer and its wacky costumes are brightening this bleak winter lockdown.
Costume designer Tim Simpson, of Brighton-based Plunge Creations, is one of the few who knows who’s inside everything from the biker badger to the rainbow-bellied dragon.
And although he won’t tell us (we tried everything), he’s happy to share how each amazing costume came to life.
Tim says: “For the second series, heads are slightly larger to create more breathing space and improve the acoustics. And sometimes we add little details to costumes as clues or codes to the performer.”
But he also says they sometimes add fake details “to throw people off the scent”.
The costumes need hours of tailoring, yards of silk, hundreds of feathers, sculpting and technical engineering, none of which is cheap.
So has this year’s budget passed last year’s rumoured £10million?
Tim says: “If it was that much I’d be in Barbados. I can’t say how much was spent on our costumes, but they do cost more than a Primark suit.”
Here Tim reveals the secrets, if not the price, of each awesome outfit.
Are They? Aren’t They? Celebs’ Big Tease
Celebs are being asked if they’re the faces behind the masks…and some are egging on fans.
Jason Manford, who was on last year’s show, teased a viewer who suspected he could be Viking: “Could be the ultimate deception! Nobody would ever guess I’d be on it twice!”
Magician Dynamo created suspicion he is Bush Baby by saying: “I’m not saying I’m the Bush Baby but have you ever seen me and Bush Baby in the same room at the same time?” Joe Swash joked he could be Blob after fiancee Stacey Solomon giggled at the thought. “I can’t confirm or deny these allegations,” he said.
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Coleen Nolan told Loose Women Stacey could be Sausage before changing her mind. Phillip Schofield guessed Badger is Holly Willoughby.
Comic Susan Calman addressed rumours she is Dragon on Lorraine. She said to the host: “It’s the most flattering rumour ever spread!”
Viewers thought actress Amanda Byram might be Swan but sadly she confirmed: “Ha! If only I could sing!”
Reacting to rumours Clock is Des Lyman, BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker said: “If that clock dude is Des I’ll do BBC Breakfast on Monday in my swimming trunks and a sombrero.”
Alien (unmasked as Sophie Ellis-Bextor)
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Tim says: “I wanted to create an alien that didn’t look scary, so I went for a cyberpunk look with added mirror and sparkle.
“The helmet is made with tiny, fiddly bits from an Airfix robot game because I wanted to involve tech within the costume so it looked like Star Trek’s Borg. “
Robin
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Tim says: “Robin’s jacket is gorgeous.
“We wanted a classical cut with the chest-bursting out the front, so it’s got about 500 handmade feathers built into it and it’s very easy to move in, except for the feet.
“The feet are completely daft. It’s only when you look down you realise it’s a crazy robin.
“We nearly had them in a pair of classical boots but in the end we went large on the feet.”
Badger
(Image: ITV)
Tim says: “Badger’s got attitude. I’ve had a thing for badgers for years and we have a taxidermy one as our company mascot.
“It was fun to create a rock ’n’ roll biker badger look. Normally badgers tend to be a chubby old stiff in a trench coat.
“But maybe making him a biker is his revenge on so many of his friends have become roadkill. There’s a secret that I put on there, which is a Badger Cull Survivor Club badge on his bum.”
Sausage
(Image: ITV)
Tim says: “Sausage started off as a cone of chips without a head at all.
“We could’ve gone for a sausage or gherkin and although I voted gherkin everyone else voted sausage.
“They were absolutely right. We got some sparkle on the chips to make them look greasy.
“And if you look closely at the newspaper article, there might be a mick-take of a show host there. The costume connects between the performer’s legs so they have to walk with their legs apart.”
Swan
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Tim says: “In the imposing 7ft 6in costume, the performer looks out of the neck behind layers of organza, silk, and netting.
“I wanted something more crazy haute couture than a fun costume. She is high drama. We started with a white swan but it looked a bit bridal so we made her black.
“Normally the production team says no to black because it doesn’t show on screen, but we gave her a strong red beak and ran that detail over all the fabric to accentuate all of her frills.”
Dragon
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Tim says: “The performer gets in and out through Dragon’s really cute belly. There’s quite a rig in there
“There’s a rucksack frame and a plastic pipe that rolls down in the tail. Between the first and second performance, we did a lot of work to help make the performer feel more comfortable and be able to bounce around and be a jolly dragon.
“They have a smoke machine in the costume too. This performer really is as nice as they are on TV.”
Viking
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Tim says: “Viking was the simplest of all the costumes in the show and it came together really quickly because of its big bold shapes.
“The performer looks out of the top of the helmet. The beard and body all hang off the shoulders of the performer and it’s mainly made from a flexible foam material called Plastazote so that the short sword he sometimes carries with him isn’t going to do anyone any harm.”
Blob
(Image: ITV)
Tim says: “Producers insisted on Blob from the start and it went through more re-draws than all the others put together.
“At one stage it had legs from giant slinkies and had no eyes or mouth.
“It kept changing until I drew something that looked like it had melted. Now he’s insane and glorious.
“I designed a Dalek-style rig that hides underneath and takes the weight. Blob wheels around and the performer doesn’t have all the weight.”
Harlequin
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Tim says: “We went for the maximum width we could get through the set as the skirt measures 2.5 metres across.
“When I take a ruler to work out how much space I would need to make it look good, it can scare me.
“The costume has a huge crinoline hoop under the skirt, which normally would have metal boning.
“But for this creation, we ended up using fiberglass tent poles around the perimeter of the skirt to give it the rigidity it needed to hold its shape and give it grandeur.”
Bush Baby
(Image: ITV)
Tim says: “Bush Baby looks a bit like a possum but was inspired by Baby Yoda. It is very cute – but very hot.
“To make it look right, there’s an entire fur suit under the BabyGro to make it move properly.
“Despite our best efforts to cool it by cutting large holes in the ears and vents at the top of the head, we had to strap ice packs to the performer while they were on the stage.
“The performer looks out of the muzzle – and luckily was an absolute star who didn’t grumble.”
Grandfather Clock
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Tim says: “This is my favourite because I love the tailoring, height, and elegance. I wanted the body not to look like a pantomime costume, but to have the illusion of being made of panelling and timber.
“Using genuine tweed and lots of layers made it complicated to work out but I think it looks so handsome.
“It’s one of the ones I’d love to steal for a night out. If you look carefully, you’ll see he has a mustache on wiggly springs and the contestant looks out of the mouth.”
Seahorse (unmasked as Mel B)
(Image: ITV)
Tim says: “We had trouble with a lot of the lighting on Seahorse and had to keep tweaking the wiring.
“We wanted it to look transparent. It’s a lightweight wireframe that’s been soldered together and over the top, we’ve applied organzas and silks, all hand-stitched with sequins around the edges to create that glassy look.
“It’s one of the easiest ones to wear.”
Which costume is your favourite? And who do you think is behind each mask? Let us know your theories and favourites below!
Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/masked-singer-costume-designer-tim-23288397