‘Oti says I'm bad at dancing!'

The Masked Dancer host Joel Dommett on the new format, and why he’s better sticking to fronting the show than performing in it

- RIANNE ISON

If there’s one TV show guaranteed to have you shouting at your screens, it’s ITV’s The Masked Singer. But you can times that by two next week as the series’ wacky new spin-off, The Masked Dancer, makes its debut in the UK.

Once again hosted by Joel Dommett, the brilliantly bonkers format sees returning star detectives Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross and Mo Gilligan joined by Strictly ’s Oti Mabuse, as they each attempt to guess which celebrities are showing off their dance moves under the amazingly elaborate costumes.

“I love that we’ve got to the point where the costumes don’t even have faces on any more, they’re just objects! It’s shown just how much fun you can have,” Joel, 35, laughs as new catches up with him.

Here, we chat to Joel about the runaway success of the show, how he’d make a terrible contestant, and why he finds it easy to keep the programme’s secrets – even from his wife, model Hannah Cooper…

Hi Joel. Is The Masked Dancer as mad as it sounds?

We started filming and it just felt really joyous and full of fun, love and silliness. It’s very simple – you’re literally seeing who someone is from the way they move, and there are loads of extra clues.

Is it even crazier than The Masked Singer?

It’s taken the format to another level. It’s extended the fun of The Masked Singer and it’s just as bizarre, if not even more so. I think because you haven’t got the foundation of the voices, you’re really focused on the clues and the visual and body shapes. It’s really fun.