Backstage secrets of The Masked Singer – including when it was filmed

Surreal singing contest The Masked Singer has become the latest Saturday night TV hit for ITV.

Since the show kicked off on January 4, viewers have been desperate to uncover just who is behind the elaborate costumes of The Tree, Queen Bee, Duck and co.

And despite some impeccable guesswork, it's unlikely we'll ever find out the truth until each singer is unmasked.

Producers went to incredible lengths to avoid any spoilers, with their cunning work of segregation and code names being likened to a military operation.

Here's everything you need to know about what happens backstage to keep the competitors remaining a secret.

Where was the masked singer filmed?

Though The Masked Singer gives the feel of coming out live, the entire series was actually filmed months ago.

To maintain a level of secrecy, the episodes were shot in Bovingdon, a village near Herfordshire.

Host Joel Dommett told the Radio Times: "We filmed this in Bovingdon and it was 500 or so people and we film the whole show like we just saw – then we had to get rid of the audience."

When it came to the big reveal, only 30 members of the audience were allowed to stay and see what happened to make sure no information got out.

The audience had to be told about the edit beforehand to avoid any upset.

Are the masks kept on the entire time?

The famous faces are expected to keep their masks on backstage and during rehearsals to avoid detection.

However, if the celebs are desperate to take them off then they must walk around with a black hooded jumper over their faces, with 'DON'T TALK TO ME' written in white.

There were only six members of the production crew who knew the names of all the celebrities involved.

Judge Davina McCall said she was astounded by the lengths the crew went to.

"The level of secrecy is insane. The celebrities and the judges and presenters were always kept apart in two completely different areas.

"I once saw somebody, and they still had a full on helmet on their head and a sign on their t-shirt saying ‘don’t talk to me’.

"Very few people in the whole crew, out of all the cameramen and floor managers, knew their true identity.”

Sources have said that in the aftermath of some of the reveals the panelists were left mortified to discover some of the celebs were friend of theirs.

While the contestants were also kept apart and didn't meet until they saw each other on stage.

“Codenames were used to throw people off the scent. Communication with the celebrities was kept to one person per celeb and all their entourage were disguised too," revealed a source.

What's it like to wear the costumes?

The costumes were made by Plunge Creations, who describe themselves as a 'fearless production company.'

The managing director told the Radio times "Our brief was to do it bigger and better and go on the next level on all of the constumes.

"We thought we really did have space to go completely bonkers."

And they did just that.

The 12 costumes took a team of 47 people around 5000 hours to make.

While the costumes have to be elaborate, they must also allow the competitors to move freely about the stage while also being bulky enough to hide the figure of the star underneath.

Who are the biggest stars to appear on the show?

Fans of the UK version have been scoffed at for suggesting megastars including Helen Mirren, David Beckham and Idris Elba are behind the elaborate masks.

But some high profile names have starred on the show in other countries.

In 2018 Ryan Reynolds made an appearance on the South Korean version of the show.

While dressed in a unicorn mask and cape, Reynolds gave an emotional rendition of Tomorrow from the musical Annie.

While La Toya Jackson appeared as The Alien in the US edition.

According to Fox, the competitors on season one had a collective 65 Grammy nominations, 16 multi-Platinum albums, 16 Emmy-Award nominations, four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and four Super-Bowl titles.

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