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An act has been withdrawn from Saturday’s premiere episode of The Masked Singer due to “potential insensitivities” following the tragic Swiss bar fire that claimed 40 lives. T
he character, Red Panda, was removed from the 2026 series opener of the popular singing competition, which features celebrities performing in elaborate disguises.
An ITV spokesperson said: “In light of the tragic events in Switzerland, we took the decision to remove Red Panda’s performance on The Masked Singer in tonight’s programme owing to potential insensitivities within the theme and lyrics of the song.
“Viewers will get to see Red Panda perform in the coming weeks.”
Images appear to show Red Panda wearing sooty hi-vis firefighter overalls and a helmet with a flames and bucket symbol.
ITV has not revealed what song the character was to perform.
open image in gallery
(ITV/The Masked Singer)
There were 119 people injured in the blaze at the Crans-Montana resort that started while revellers were celebrating New Year’s Eve.
The Masked Singer is hosted by comedian Joel Dommett and on Saturday it aired at 6.40pm rather than its usual 6.30pm start.
It saw the first celebrity unmasked as the BBC’s The One Show host Alex Jones.
The Welsh presenter performed Pink Pony Club by American pop star Chappell Roan.
Asked if she prefers her usual job or The Masked Singer, she told ITV: “It’s a tough call but I think I should probably stick to speaking. I’ve had such fun.
“I’ve never sung in my life – in fact, it was a bit of a phobia. When I was little, I always used to have a cold and they just chucked me out of the choir.
“From then on, I thought ‘that’s it, singing is not for me’. But I was convinced to do this because the kids love the programme so I thought, ‘OK let’s do it’. So it’s been a big thing to overcome.”
Her message to her children was “to know that overcoming fear is a good thing”.
“They’ll think ‘god, our mother, do you remember when she dressed as a disc jockey and she sang on national television without any sort of voice?’.”
The 2025 series was won by musical theatre star and Les Miserables actress Samantha Barks who was dressed as a pufferfish.
The Masked Singer continues on Sunday at 6.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.