RICHARD Blackwood has seemingly let slip that he is The Masked Singer’s Bear after an awkward moment during a live TV interview.
EastEnders star Richard, 51, appeared on ITV News when he was directly asked if he was the celebrity behind the furry disguise.
But instead of denying it, Richard froze on-air, sparking speculation that he had been caught out.
The presenter quizzed: “Just quickly, before we finish – are you doing The Masked Singer? Because you’re getting loads of attention about it this week. Can you exclusively reveal it to us?”
Looking flustered, Richard hesitated before responding: “I could… because you made me feel so good and stuff.
“No, I can’t, I can’t. But the moves and the way I… I mean, that’s how I would do it.”
Adding fuel to the fire, Richard dropped a handful of teasing clues when he appeared Good Morning Britain last week.
On the show, host Richard Madeley asked: “Why do you think everybody thinks it’s you?”
To which Richard replied: “The Bear has swag.
“I’m looking and thinking thats how I would do it.
“You cant put on the bear outfit and not know the swag has to be on point.”
Fans of the hit show have been speculating about Bear’s identity for weeks, with many pointing to Richard’s distinctive voice and stage presence as clues.
His reaction on ITV News has only fuelled the rumours further.
Richard has yet to officially confirm or deny the claims – but his hesitation has left many convinced that the game is up.
Viewers have been left divided by Bear’s identity throughout the series, with furry forest dweller confusing viewers with his range of songs and singing styles.
One fan said last week: “Every time I think I know who Bear is, he sings with a different tone.. I’m so confused.”
Another was equally baffled but wanted Bear to win nonetheless: “Bear sounds like different people in every song he sings. I have no idea who Bear is. I want them to win.”
After a hilarious rendition of ‘You’ve got to pick a pocket or two’ from the musical Oliver in their first week, Bear has had people guessing.
One group thought that the voice behind the fuzzy face may be Shaun Wallace of ITV’s The Chase.
An eagle eared viewer said: “Just gonna throw out Shaun Wallace as a rando guess for Bear.”
Another used his Chaser name from the ITV gameshow to put his name in the mix: “Dark destroyer from the chase as the bear? #MaskedSingerUK
Once the name out there others seemed to jump on the idea.
On TikTok one viewer just said “Shaun Wallace The Chase” and got a flurry of replies like “I can hear this now!” and “Only heard the first few words and that was already my guess.”
Other fans came up with another front runner – singer songwriter Example.
One sleuth broke things down on X: “Based on clues, I’m sticking with Example for Bear. “Craven” – he’s from Fulham. Kisses on the dressing room mirror: Changed The Way You Kissed Me?”
- The Masked Singer airs Saturdays on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.
Who has left The Masked Singer 2025 so far?
Much to the delight of telly fans, The Masked Singer is back in 2025.
Twelve celebrities have been hidden behind intricate costumes, with their identities concealed.
Sadly, not all of this year’s whacky and wonderful characters can make it to the end of the show, as there can only be one winner.
Here’s who has been unmasked so far:
Teeth – this character baffled judges and viewers with their changing voice. They were finally unmasked as former Bake Off host Mel Giedroyc. None of the panel managed to guess it was her
Tattoo – despite Davina McCall saying “you sound the same” after this character was unmasked, none of the judges guessed it was 80s singer Carol Decker, whose hit China In Your Hand was a No1 hit for five weeks
Toad In The Hole – a massive diva strop saw the character storm off the stage after the judges voted them off. They later returned to be unmasked as singer Macy Gray
Pegasus – the mythical horse was revealed to be Prue Leith, with judge Jonathan Ross correctly guessing her identity
Spag Bol – this character was first to be unmasked and was none other than Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway.
Plus there was one extra unmasking this season, with Giant Joel – a caricature of host Joel Dommett – unveiled as double-double Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah.
