Dermot O'Leary, the This Morning presenter, was crowned champion of The Masked Singer Christmas Special, performing as Mistletoe. The 52-year-old took secret singing lessons before the show, but judges quickly identified him.
Host Joel Dommett accidentally revealed O'Leary's identity after hearing him chuckle, marking a programme first. O'Leary said: 'I laughed at something that Jonathan said and Joel went immediately "that's Dermot".'
O'Leary performed 'Fairytale of New York' and 'Last Christmas' in the final. He credited the song choice for his victory, saying: 'I think the song probably won it for me if I'm honest.'
The presenter noted that everyone seemed to know it was him, partly due to his legs and dancing style. 'I was like, why has Jonathan Ross been looking at my legs?' he joked.
O'Leary was approached for the main series but declined due to his commitments on This Morning, radio, and the NFL show. The new series of The Masked Singer begins on January 3 at 6.30pm on ITV and ITVX.
