by Masked Singer judge Davina McCall was devastated after the celebrity behind the Dippy Egg outfit was revealed to be her long-time co-presenter Nicky Campbell.
Radio and TV presenter Campbell, 62, has presented the TV series Long Lost Family, which reunites relatives after years of separation, with McCall since 2011.
After Campbell was dethroned during Saturday’s episode of the ITV show, McCall screamed and ran on stage to hug him.
An emotional McCall later said: “This is the best surprise, better than any birthday. I love this man.
“Nicky is a friend, We’ve been working together for 13 years – I can’t believe I didn’t recognize your voice, I didn’t recognize your singing voice, I know your singing voice. This is crazy.”
As he sang the classic Moon River song again, he choked up as McCall watched her with tears in her eyes.
Reflecting on the moment, he said: “Oh, she was emotional. I was emotional at the end doing the song again. It was incredible.
“I was emotional the whole time just trying to see her through the mask. Every performance, I could reach her, and I was thinking, ‘it’s so close, but so far away’.”
He revealed that he wanted to take part in the show because he loves it and was watching at home with his daughters, saying: “I can sing any kind of song so when the opportunity, I thought, ‘Yes, absolutely. Unbelievable.’ And there was.
“It’s very tough here with the old cover on, but you get used to it after about four shows.”
Former Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton was also targeted as the Maypole character during the show, having landed in the bottom three alongside Dippy Egg and the Eiffel Tower.
After her performance of judge Rita Ora’s hit song Let You Love Me, both Ora and McCall thought it might be a member of Pussycat Doll, but they mistakenly chose Kimberly Wyatt and Ashley Roberts respectively.
The other judges were also out of the running and Jonathan Ross thought it might be singer Zara Larsson, Mo Gilligan had previously expected singer Katy B and executive judge Sir Lenny Henry voted for the singer USA Janelle Monae.
McCall said she was drawn to be a member of the girl group because of the character’s dancing ability.
Thornton thanked her for the complement as she revealed that she was the only person in the group who was not a trained dancer or singer, describing how she joined the ensemble as a “Cinderella story”. .
Reflecting on why she wanted to go on the show, she said: “I think the thing about this show is that it’s all positive.
“You just have to have fun, and it was beautiful to bring this character to life.”
The Eiffel Tower went through to another week after the judges voted to keep them in the competition.
For their performance they took on Rihanna’s ballad Stay, prompting Ora to say that the series features “some of the best singers” the show has seen.
Ora thought the voices might have belonged to actress Jameela Jamil or Paloma Faith, and Ross agreed that he thought it might have been Faith.
Also in the episode, comedian Gilligan compared contestant Air Fryer’s singing ability to Beyonce after they performed a powerful rendition of Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked.
He said: “That was the best performance I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve seen Beyonce three times and she has nothing on Air Fryer.”
Gilligan thought it might be singer Ella Henderson behind the mask, while McCall thought the performer – whom she described as “jaw-droppingly, breathtakingly amazing” – was X Factor star Leona Lewis, who agreed Sir Lenny with him.
Ora thought it might be a former song contest judge who led her to believe it was Australian singer Dannii Minogue, and while Ross might be a former song contest judge.
Cricket entertained the judges and the crowd with an energetic performance of Antenna by Fuse ODG.
After some movie references, Sir Lenny took a jab at the famous actor Tom Hanks.
Gilligan thought that singer and producer Taio Cruz might be the one to make waves, while Ross had a hunch that it might be a Seal musician.
Ora guessed British singer Lemar because she sensed a clue referring to one of his albums, while McCall suggested it might be US singer and actor Gregory Porter.
The show saw Piranha as well as Since U Been Gone with Kelly Clarkson which made Gilligan think he could be Glee star Darren Criss.
While Ross thought it could be the voice of Max George from The Wanted and Ora guessed it could be singer Jamie Cullum.
The celebrity behind the Big Foot costume also energized the crowd by singing Shut Up And Dance by US rock band Walk The Moon.
Sir Lenny thought he was ex-Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole after a series of football clues, while Gilligan, McCall and Ross all opted for The Last Leg star Alex Brooker to be behind the mask.
The Masked Singer will continue on ITV.
