Ratings fall for 2023 The Masked Singer final

The final of The Masked Singer 2023 was watched by an average of 4.8 million viewers, a drop on last year, according to overnight ratings.

Saturday’s episode saw Busted’s Charlie Simpson unveiled as Rhino as he was crowned the winner of the fourth series of ITV’s surreal guessing game.

The singer, 37, beat Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson, who was disguised as Phoenix, and All Saints star Natalie Appleton, who was hiding behind the Fawn mask.

The figures for the final were down on 2022, which had an average audience of 6.3 million.

This is the second consecutive dip, after the 2021 final episode had an average of 8.6 million viewers tune in – although viewing figures were generally higher during the first two national lockdowns.

Saturday’s final had a peak of 5.7 million viewers, according to ITV.

The Masked Singer, which is presented by comedian Joel Dommett, sees famous contestants disguised in elaborate costumes sing in front of a celebrity panel who have to guess their identity.

Regular panellists Rita Ora, Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall and Mo Gilligan were joined by comedian Lee Mack for the final.

Simpson had the judges fooled along the way, but Ora and McCall correctly guessed his identity at the end.

Ross thought it could have been singer James Arthur while Mack opted for George Ezra.

Arthur responded on Twitter, writing: “Honoured to be compared to @CharlieSimpson by the way. It’s about time he got the recognition he deserves.”

Following his reveal, Simpson shared a video on Instagram which showed him removing a different rhino mask before he sang Use Somebody by Kings Of Leon.

He wrote a message on the video, saying: “Well this has been a hard secret to keep. Reading all of your comments each week has been awesome.

“I’ve been so blown away by the support so I’ve decided to release a few songs I sang on the show as an EP named KIFARU the Swahili word for Rhino. I hope you like it, big love x”