Amanda Holden has sparked speculation that she is the celebrity beneath the Panda costume on ITV ’s popular talent contest The Masked Singer.
The 50-year-old actress and TV judge already proved she has an impressive pair of pipes on herself when she released her debut album, titled Songs From My Heart, in 2020 – which reached number 4 in the UK charts.
No stranger to talent shows thanks to her role as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, Amanda has now implicated herself as Panda on The Masked Singer after fans noticed she had a huge animal costume in the back of her car.
Amanda was spotted pottering around central London on Monday when she opened up the boot of her car – where a giant plush panda head could be seen poking out the back of a cardboard box.
Clues surrounding the Panda character have included the fact that they have "treaded the boards" in different lives far from what you could imagine – which could fit Amanda’s varied background as a Blind Date contestant turned TV actress turned TV judge turned radio host turned album chart singer.
However, Masked Singer Judges – Jonathan Ross, Rita Ora, Mo Gilligan and Davina McCall – have all been stumped by the identity so far.
At the end of last week, Panda was the bookies favourite to win the series - with Natalie Imbruglia tipped to be the star behind the mask.
Leading bookmaker Coral slashed the odds from 2-1 to 6-4 in favour of the Panda character winning the current series.
While odds on the star beneath the mask stood at 4-5 for Aussie singer and actress Natalie, while Alesha Dixon was also being considered as a possibility – long before her BGT co-star Mandy was suggested.
Coral's John Hill said in a statement at the end of last week: "There is little doubt that the Panda is a professional singer. It has not missed a note so far on the series and it is the clear favourite to prevail now the Poodle is out.
"Natalie Imbruglia remains the favourite to be behind the mask, however, Alesha Dixon's odds have been slashed following last weekend's show.”
Coral seem to be able to prove they know what they are talking about – as they also slashed odds on Michael Owen being the celeb behind the Doughnuts: a prediction that was proved correct.
Meanwhile, rival bookies Betfair are also banking on Natalie Imbruglia being the star behind the Panda costume – with odds also stacked at 6/4.
While they have also given odds on Amanda Holden being the culprit – offering odds of 13/8.
Viewers of The Masked singer have also been stumped over who the true star could be – although Natalie and Alesha have been firm favourites so far.
Following Saturday night’s episode, one fan tweeted: "Panda is 100% Natalie Imbruglia,” – but another argued: "Panda is Alesha Dixon 100 million percent.”
The Masked Singer continues on Saturday night on ITV1 at 7pm.
