ITV viewers have heaped praise on The Masked Singer UK judge Jonathan Ross for ‘rescuing’ an awkward moment on stage during the latest episode.
On Saturday night, fans watched American R&B star Macy Gray reveal herself as the singer behind the Toad in the Hole mask. But the reveal didn’t quite go to plan as the star had to be convinced to return to the stage for the unmasking after initially walking away when it was announced she would not be going through to the next stage of the competition.
After singing in the head-to-head against Bear, Jonathan told the star that the judges had decided to vote her off as they were “pretty certain” they knew who she was and they were “desperate” to find out if they were right.
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But Macy seemingly didn’t take the news very well and walked off stage leaving host Joel Dommett and the judges looking confused about what was going on and whether the show could continue.
Eventually, Joel told the audience that Toad would be returning to the stage to reveal their identity. After she took off her mask, Joel attempted to quiz Macy about her time on the show but viewers at home noticed that the downbeat singer didn’t seem very happy about the result. Asked by Joel if she had fun on the show, Macy simply answered: “Yeah”.
Some fans branded her a ‘sore loser’ as they pointed out that she looked ‘raging’ to be heading home. “Macy Gray having a tantrum dressed as a toad on stage will go down in pop culture history,” one fan wrote.
But viewers also picked up on Jonathan’s reaction to the ‘awkward’ moment, with some viewers praising the judge for ‘rescuing’ the interview with the star.
Toad in the Hole didn’t look happy to be voted off the show -Credit:ITV
Jonathan attempted to ask Macy about some of the clues the panel had heard during the show, asking her about whether she had appeared on Dancing with the Stars and about the song of hers that featured in Shrek, to which Macy said she couldn’t remember which one it was.
Macy continued to give brief answers, but Jonathan carried on trying and asked her whether it was difficult to perform wearing a toad’s head. “I’ve been around a long time and now I’m a toad,” Macy shrugged, before Jonathan then issued her an apology for appearing on the show while Joel had been wearing shorts as part of his beach holiday-themed outfit.
Fans said Jonathan was an ‘utter professional’ for trying to keep the show going. “Jonathan Ross doing the most to keep that interview going,” one fan pointed out on X, formerly twitter. Another said: “Watching Jonathan Ross go into professional presenter mode to rescue the nightmare of a sulking Macy Gray, unexpected on a Saturday night.”
A third fan commented: “Outstanding from Ross when the rest of the panel completely clammed up, consummate professional,” while another echoed: “Thank god for the utter professional Mr Ross you saved the day while the other judges hid away.”
Toad in the Hole performing on the Masked Singer -Credit:Masked Singer UK / YouTube
Another fan wrote: “Well that was probably the most awkward unmasking to date for the #MaskedSingerUK – Macy Grey was NOT a happy Toad! And bless him Jonathon Ross just kept asking her questions!” A final fan said: “As much as Johnathan Ross annoys me – he held that tense ending together very well.”
R&B star Macy, who is famous for hits including I Try, Still and Sweet Baby, is no stranger to the competition, having previously appeared in the 2021 season of the Australian version of the show as Atlantis, and then again in the US version in 2023 as a wild card entry, when she finished in fourth place.
Earlier in the show, Bear performed Miami by Will Smith, while the character Bush sang Hold My Hand by Jess Glynne. Pufferfish did a performance of Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper, which Maya described as “stunning”, while Wolf performed Copacabana (At the Copa) by Barry Manilow.
Last weekend, Prue Leith and Kate Garraway became the first two celebrities of the season to be unmasked.
The Masked Singer continues on Saturdays on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.