‘A beetroot made me cry!'

Strictly star Oti Mabuse on being a panellist on The Masked Dancer…

- STEVEN PERKINS

THE MASKED DANCER

NEW SAT-TUE & THU-FRI / ITV / TIMES VARY / EPS 1-6 of 7 / ENTERTAINMENT

Oti Mabuse is the undisputed queen of the dance floor. The Latin American champion became the first professional to win two consecutive series of BBC1 juggernaut Strictly Come Dancing and was the triumphant mentor on both seasons of The Greatest Dancer.

This week, she’s facing one of her toughest challenges yet – trying to identify 12 disguised celebrities as they show off their moves on ITV’s new series The Masked Dancer, a spin-off from the phenomenon that is The Masked Singer.

Like its sister show, the seven-part contest – which will air across the week – will be hosted by Joel Dommett. And Oti will join The Masked Singer panellists Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross and Mo Gilligan as they try to unravel the clues.

Here, in an exclusive interview with TV Times, Oti, 30, tells us more…

What appealed to you about being a panellist on The Masked Dancer?

Everything! The Masked Singer is such a big hit and hopefully it has paved the way for the idea of famous people who aren’t known for their dancing trying a new skill and doing it in a mask!

And I get to work with an amazing panel. We have fun. You’re going to see the inside of my mouth because I’m laughing so hard!

Have you ever danced in a mask?

Never, but it’s really challenging. The masks are heavy and the contestants are pushing themselves so hard! Some do cartwheels, some spin on their heads, some do splits on the floor, and you just go, ‘Wow! How can you do that?!’