THE MASKED DANCER SHELVED BY ITV AFTER TWO SERIES

EXCLUSIVE The Masked Dancer, the spin-off series to The Masked Singer, will not be returning this year, TV Zone can exclusively reveal.

TV Zone understands that ITV have no plans for a series this year, with the broadcaster opting to rest the show instead. ITV is however understood to be planning more one-off specials to air later this year, as it did last year with an I'm A Celebrity themed episode.

The Masked Dancer first aired in 2021, stripped over a week, as a replacement for Britain's Got Talent which was forced to take a year's break due to Coronavirus restrictions.

ITV quickly commissioned a second series, which aired last Autumn directly against BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, which saw ratings more than half as a result of the clash.

The last series of The Masked Dancer saw footballing legend Peter Crouch join the panel, alongside Masked regulars Jonathan Ross and Davina McCall, who were also joined by professional dancer Oti Mabuse.

Like its sister show, the series saw twelve celebrities stepping onto the dancefloor to take on character alter egos as they trip the light fantastic in a bid to wow the panel and confuse with their moves.

ITV have already committed to at least one more series of The Masked Singer, which was commissioned as part of a two-year deal announced last year. Katie Rawcliffe, head of entertainment at ITV, previously said: "The Masked Singer has once again established itself as unmissable event television, keeping the nation guessing throughout its glorious eight-week run."

The Masked Singer continues this Saturday at 7pm on ITV1. The Masked Dancer is available on ITVX.