FORMER England striker Peter Crouch is back on familiar turf this weekend.
He’s returning to the panel on The Masked Singer for a one-off appearance, having impressed during his stint on The Masked Dancer last year.
Stephen Mulhern and Lee Mack will be joining him as guest judges, alongside panel regulars Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Mo Gilligan.
But he won’t be the only guest judge on Saturday’s show as Stephen Mulhern and Lee Mack will also be joining him, alongside regulars Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Mo Gilligan – so their desk better be an extendable one.
It’s a bumper line-up for the show, which has now reached the quarter-finals stage of the competition and will feature a double dumping, slashing the celebrities from seven down to just five.
It means speculation surrounding the identity of the celebrities behind the masks is ramping up.
Ladbrokes has released their list of favourites, with Ricky Wilson their 4/5 tip to be Phoenix, Glee star Amber Riley 5/4 odds on as Jellyfish and Steps singer Claire Richards is 2/1 top choice as Knitting.
The bookies also have Patsy Kensit at 2/1 to be Otter, the same odds as All Saints’ Natalie Appleton as Fawn, and have Bon Jovi rocker Richie Sambora is 6/4 to be Jacket Potato.
Busted frontman Charlie Simpson has the shortest odds out of all to be Rhino at 5/4.
A source said: “The Masked Singer remains a huge Saturday night show for ITV, with over five million viewers last weekend.
“They’ve thrown the budget at a raft of star panellists as they cruise towards the big finale next month.”
Saturday’s show kicks off at 7pm on ITV1.
It comes after the show’s host Joel Dommett has signed up for a new ‘high octane’ ITV game show.
Called In With A Shout, the new programme will see contestants shout at their TV in the hope of winning cash.
Two families will be pitted against each other as they go head-to-head – with £20,000 up for grabs.
They’ll be tasked with having to answer questions hidden within a montage of moving images.
However, the stakes are high for the winning family who will have just 60 seconds to successfully answer questions correctly to turn off the TV’s
If they fail to turn off all ten tellies within the timeframe, they walk away with nothing.
Speaking about the new show, Joel said he’s “beyond excited to be hosting my first quiz show”.
“It’s always been a dream for me and I can’t believe I’m finally here, plus it’s a show I love SO MUCH!
“I’m ready to cheer, console, congratulate and sometimes laugh at our wonderful contestants.
Peter’s feeling chipper
THANKS to the Wagatha Christie libel trial, Peter Andre’s manhood has overtaken his six-pack as his most talked about body part.
His past fling with Rebekah Vardy was brought up in court last July, when the Wag was grilled about a newspaper interview in which she compared his todger to a “chipolata” by Coleen Rooney’s lawyer.
But that’s not the only time the size of the Aussie singer’s bits have been discussed in such detail, as Peter’s pecker drew attention during his time I’m A Celebrity in 2004 when met Katie Price.
He explained on The Netmums Podcast: “If you go back to the jungle days, there were night-vision cameras and we didn’t know that because it was one of the first series of I’m a Celebrity. I didn’t know anything about it.
“I was living in Australia then all of a sudden I got called to do this show.
“And I remember the headline being, ‘From an acorn grows an oak tree” and I was super proud.
“Years later it came back to haunt me because there was this silly stuff being said about the chipolata. It’s all been a bit of a laugh.”
LOVE Island was the most watched series on UK streaming platforms last year.
The ITV2 dating show was streamed more than 273million times last summer, with the top episode being viewed 8.9million times.
Figures are on the up for the current run, with 1.5million tuning in to Monday’s show.
A vision of unity
THE BBC has unveiled the slogan and logo for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
It says the United By Music branding represents the relationship between the UK, Ukraine and host city Liverpool, while also reflecting on music’s ability to bring communities together.
It was seen for the first time last night during the handover programme on BBC2 hosted by Rylan Clark.
Eurovision boss Martin Green says. “The 2023 Contest will be a truly special event and the creative look is a big part of creating that magic.
“This year’s identity sums . . . the power of music to bring people together across the world.”
This year’s ceremony will be held at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena from May 9-13.
A NEW mockumentary called Dropped is coming to Channel 4.
The series is being aired on its YouTube strand 4 Comedy and follows London rap collective ATM as they struggle to stay current in a brutal music industry.
Each episode of the five-parter is out weekly from next Wednesday.
It’s a new ball game
ARMCHAIR sports fans will feel even closer to the action thanks to new technology that will be used during this year’s Six Nations Rugby.
For the first time in the Championship’s history, ITV and BBC will utilise data from Sage’s Smart Ball microchip that will deliver real-time info as the action unfolds.
Pitch-side sensors will measure everything from speed of passes to distance of throws and even the rotation, then beam the info to viewers at home.
Each game will be broadcast to 120million TV viewers in 180 countries across the globe.
The clever tech will also be utilised by Guinness in its Six Nations FanZones alongside live entertainment, quizzes, ticket giveaways and Q&A sessions with legendary players.
The spots include Vinegar Yard in London, Depot in Cardiff, The Pear Tree in Edinburgh and Freight Island in Manchester.
