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THE Masked Singer has been caught up in a 'fake' row - with furious viewers convinced bosses influence the judges' guesses.

Fans of the hit ITV show tuned in as the new series kicked off, with Joel Dommett returning as host.

The Masked Singer fans have slammed the show as the panel attempted to guess who was behind the masks
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The Masked Singer fans have slammed the show as the panel attempted to guess who was behind the masksCredit: ITV
They accused the panel of 'not being allowed' to really guess who the celebs are
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They accused the panel of 'not being allowed' to really guess who the celebs areCredit: ITV

Joining the judging panel this year is Love Island host Maya Jama, who replaces Rita Ora.

She sat alongside Mo Gilligan, Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross and special guest Mo Farah as a brand new batch of celebrities performed.

Dressed Crab, Spag Bol, Snail, Tattoo, Teeth and King Fisher all performed.

But as the panel attempted to guess who were under the masks, fans were left furious.

more on the masked singer

They accused The Masked Singer panel of 'not being allowed' to make their own guesses by bosses.

Posting on social media, one said: "The fact that the judges are pretending not to immediately know Kingfisher is Harry Hill, just proves they're not allowed to make any real attempt at guessing who it is."

A second wrote: "Everything feels forced. I don't get the point in judges picking who sings next. Are they just coming up with new ways to make the episode longer. I prefer series with Rita involved."

An ITV spokesperson said: "There is no truth to this story whatsoever.  As viewers will have seen, Jonathan correctly guessed Prue Leith on last night's show.  After each performance the panel will discuss how they have come to their guess based on the clues that they have seen in the clues package as well as the singing voice."

Meanwhile, the first episode ended on a massive cliffhanger just as Spag Bol was about to be unmasked.

They were eliminated after the panel chose to save Teeth.

The Masked Singer fans furious as show pulls out huge twist ahead of Spag Bol reveal

But just as they revealed their identity host Joel told viewers they'd have to wait until Sunday night to learn who was under the mask.

The twist left fans at home furious as they took aim at ITV bosses.

The Masked Singer Judges and Host

The Masked Singer has been a smash-hit for ITV since launching in 2020. Here's a look at the show's familiar on air team.

Judges

Current:

  • Jonathan Ross: Presenter and film critic Jonathan has been part of The Masked Singer since its first series.
  • Davina McCall: Long Lost Family co-host Davina is also one of the show's original panellists.
  • Mo Gilligan: Comedian and presenter Mo joined in series two, replacing US star Ken Jeong.
  • Maya Jama: Love Island presenter Maya is set to join in series six, replacing Rita Ora.

Former:

Host

Joel Dommett: Joel has presented every series of The Masked Singer so far.

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