The Masked Singer semi final: Bush and Bear’s identities revealed as a soap icon and a rapper as they narrowly miss out on a place in the grand final

The Masked Singer’s semi-final saw Bush and Bear narrowly miss out on a place in the grand final as their identities were revealed on Saturday.

The quirky characters had battled it out against Pufferfish, Dressed Crab and Wolf for the three places in the final, but they unfortunately fell short at the final hurdle after getting the fewest votes.

After some strong guesses, judges Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Mo Gilligan and Maya Jama, alongside guest judge Richard E. Grant, were left stunned as Bush was revealed to be none other than soap icon Natalie Cassidy.

Her unveiling came hot on the heels of Bear, who had earlier been unmasked as rapper Example.

Natalie, who recently quit her role as Sonia Fowler in EastEnders, excitedly said of being on the show: ‘It’s been one the best jobs I’ve ever done. Absolutely amazing. 

‘My fourteen year old she’s either going to say, “mum I’m really proud of you or this is the most embarrassing thing me for me ever!”‘

The Masked Singer’s semi-final saw Bush and Bear narrowly miss out on a place in the grand final as their identities were revealed on Saturday

After some strong guesses, the judges were left stunned as Bush was revealed to be a soap icon[Bush pictured with host Joel Dommett]

Speaking about the difficulties of performing on the show, Natalie later said in an interview: ‘It was well ‘ard! It was very nerve wracking for me because I’m not a singer. 

‘I feel like I’ve challenged myself doing this and it is just so fun and because it’s something I don’t do it doesn’t really matter. So there was no pressure and I kept going through, I couldn’t believe it. I kept going and going!’

On having reached the semi-final, she shared: ‘It’s ridiculous. It’s so stupid but it’s about the character. It’s not a singing competition, it’s a guessing game. It’s not really about the singing up until the end and then I think the singing becomes important.’

Despite coming very close, none of the judges managed to identify the actress as Bush.

Speaking about the judges’ attempts, she said: ‘They were very close. Very, very close at times, near to the bone but I was pleased that they didn’t get me.’

She added: ‘I have got quite a recognisable voice so I can’t believe they didn’t get me!’ 

EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy beamed as she was revealed to be Bush

Her unveiling came hot on the heels of Bear, who had earlier been unmasked as rapper Example