Martine McCutcheon ‘s little boy had the best reaction when she was finally unmasked as the Swan on The Masked Singer.
The former EastEnders star said the show is her son Rafferty’s favourite, and wanting to impress the five-year-old was a big part of why she agreed to sign up.
Tonight, the singer and actress was unveiled as the Swan after a show-stopping sing-off with the Sausage.
She later shared a sweet video that showed her holding Rafferty in her arms, chanting along with the audience: “Take it off, take it off.”
Shock fell over the little one’s face as he saw his mum on the TV. “What? Mummy! Mummy!,” he excitedly exclaimed.
(Image: Instagram)
She laughed as he threw his arms around her neck, saying: “Mummy, oh my god. What!”
Love Actually star Martine, 44, said she couldn’t believe she’d actually managed to keep it a secret from her little boy.
She penned: “@maskedsingeruk Thank you so much for having me! The most amazing project to be part of! Huge! Thank you to the whole team – what an brilliant bunch people to work with! Ive never known an operation like it!
“I didn’t get to sing a big ballad but I DID get to be a showgirl again and also surprise Rafferty by being on one of his favourite ever shows! Bless him he was so proud and not being able to breathe and getting backache from the huge heavy wired swan sculpture was all worth it! I can’t believe I managed to keep it a secret! #maskedsingeruk #swan #rafferty #pricelessmoments #showgirl #sogoodtobeback”
(Image: Instagram)
(Image: Instagram)
Podcaster Rosie Ramsey told her: “I GUESSED YOU!!!!! Fabulous!!!”
“Congratulations,” wrote Patsy Palmer, who was the Butterfly on last year’s series.
Loose Women star Andrea McLean called her: “Amazing!”
While Steps star Faye Tozer commented: “Omg!! That is the cutest!!! Congratulations! Brilliant fun!”
(Image: ITV)
And Coronation Street’s Samia Longchambon told her: “You were so fab! We loved it”
On why she decided to take part in the ITV show, Martine said: “After lockdown I missed performing live and I thought it would be fun to perform in disguise. It’s liberating to take on a whole new persona.”
She said keeping the secret was incredibly difficult.
“It was so hard,” she said. “We watched the first series and my little one was hooked – we had to watch it every single week.”
(Image: ITV)
(Image: Instagram)
She added: “[The secrecy] was taken very seriously, I’ve never known anything quite like it.
“From the moment we left our house we had to wear a disguise and it felt like I was going to rob a bank haha! It was so well organised, not once did I see another contestant which made it even more exciting but also quite frustrating as I was dying to know who everyone was.”
* The Masked Singer airs Saturdays on ITV