The Masked Dancer | Interview with Joel Dommett

We’re back, what can viewers expect from series 2?

Bigger and better than ever really. I think we’ve gone full ham for weirdness. It’s really incredible and the names are bigger and better than ever I think. There’s more clues and more dancing.

You often say that you can hear the celebrities giggling in their costumes at the panel’s guesses. Is there lots more of that in this series?

Yes, there’s lots of that. There’s also lots of panting with Masked Dancer that you don’t get on Masked Singer because obviously, they’re very tired at the end of it. So there’s a lot of heavy breathing. So whereas everyone else is trying to guess with the clues, I’m trying to guess who it is from their heavy panting. One particular character, Pearly King, makes a lot of noise in their costume, whatever they’re doing they’re having a lot of fun.

The other panellist have said that you and Pearly King have a unique relationship?

I don’t really know what’s going on. Sometimes I don’t really know whether it’s sort of a father and son relationship or whether it’s sort of a flirting relationship. I’m not really sure what is going on, but it’s very dynamic.

Do you think it’s harder for the panel to guess on The Masked Dancer than on The Masked Singer?

It’s definitely harder but there’s so many more clues. There’s so many more games that we play now to help with the guessing, with extra clues up for grabs, which I think is quite fun. It’s difficult and the spectacle of it is so odd that I think sometimes the panel forget about the guessing because you’re just watching the madness in front of you. It’s so fun and there’s some incredible dancing happening as well.

Can we expect to see some spectacular performances?

Yes. It’s just the way that some people can move in these costumes. To move like that outside of the costumes would be a feat but the fact that they’re doing it with a massive head on is bizarre. I can barely move in these suits, let alone what the masked celebrities are moving in. I think people who are looking for a dance show won’t be disappointed.

Talking about outlandish costumes, can we expect to see more colourful suits from you, this series?

Yes absolutely one is very pink and has a Pink Panther vibe. We’ve gone for some very bright ones, especially for the final we’ve gone all out. It’s an exciting array.

Do you still get to pick them and help to design them?

Yes. I love it. It’s a really fun part of it. I love putting it all together and helping to make sure that we get the right mix of crazy and interesting and making it feel different for each episode. We’re reusing suits as well, so that’s really nice. It’s one of my favourite parts of the whole process.

We have a new panellist this year, how is Peter settling in?

Peter has been so good. He’s really taking it seriously. He’s a sportsman so he wants to win and that’s made him a great sportsman and also a good detective on the show. He’s very good at it. He just loves piecing together all of the clues. What makes me laugh the most is when all of the panel stand up, because Peter is so tall there is such a huge gap between the table and his legs that you could fit a whole person through the gap. He is so tall.

Other than Pearly King, are there any other characters that you think the audience are going to love?

There’s some great ones. Pearly King is a really great costume. I also really like Scissors, because it’s very simple. I do think that Pearly King is my absolute favourite. They’re really good and embrace the whole character. It’s amazing and what makes this show wonderful is that it’s not really in any way a talent show. You can be an amazing singer or dancer, but Pearly King isn’t the best dancer by country mile but he’s embracing it and courts the audience, he’s really enjoying it and I think that can get you really far. The more you enjoy it, the more people enjoy watching you. It’s really fun.

How have your guesses been?

Terrible! I’m terrible at guessing on the show. I’m really happy that I’m the host of it and not on the panel because I would get absolutely nowhere.

Do we get to see more of your signature dance moves?

There’s loads this year, actually. I think you’d have to put the word dance in quotation marks because I don’t know whether technically it’s dance. Like Pearly King, I put in all of my effort and I look like I’m enjoying myself and that’s the main thing as for whether it’s good or not…I’ll leave that up to you all to decide.

Without giving anything away. Are there any standout moments that you can tease?

One of the characters does the splits and that was very exciting. I tried it afterwards and almost pulled a hamstring. Onomatopoeia is another great costume and this person is a great dancer. They can really move, so I’m excited to see who is hiding behind the mask because I have absolutely no idea.

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