THE Masked Dancer’s Gareth Malone has claimed he spotted a clue that revealed Pearly King is a famed EastEnders actor.
Gareth, who was unveiled as the mexican wrestler Cactus on Saturday night, fuelled speculation over the identity of the cockney lion after his exit from the ITV show.
TV’s Choirmaster Gareth told HOAR the celebs are left completely in the dark over who their co-stars are.
And though they rarely spend time together on set, one day Gareth got a good look at the line-up and a few famous faces sprang to mind.
He said: “There was a day when we were all together, that was a weird day. There were a few where I thought, ‘oh you know, you look more like a model because you’ve got long legs and are about 7ft tall. You can spot physicality, like ‘you’re an actor.’
“So I feel like Pearly King, fans were saying it’s Danny Dyer. And I think that has got to be Danny Dyer.
“I did actually think that while we were there. I’ve also met Danny before and he is actually about the right height.”
The likes of Dyer and also Queen’s Brian May have been linked to the sharp-suited lion for weeks.
But now another name has entered the mix – comedian Harry Hill.
The character has dropped a number of hints so far – including that they’re from ‘the streets of London’ and are ‘part of a long tradition’ and isn’t afraid of hard work.
Pearly King also teased that he’d worked alongside someone with a ‘golden mane’.
But perhaps most tellingly he has ‘King of the Hill’ on the back of his costume.
Fans already know the lion is male after judge Oti Mabuse let it slip on This Morning.
She essentially ruled out that the character was a woman – removing any chance it was one of England’s Lionesses.
The Masked Dancer‘s Oti said: “We have a lion, I think he steals the show” before quickly adding: “Or she steals the show. You see? Why do they bring me on?!”
The Masked Dancer continues Saturday at 6.30pm on ITV and ITV Hub
