What happened to Red Panda on ITV’s The Masked Singer 2026?

The character, dressed in a sooty hi-vis firefighter overalls and a helmet with a flames and bucket symbol, was removed from the first episode of the ITV show at the beginning of the month and hasn’t been since – but why did this happen?

In a last minute turn of events on January 3, Red Panda was pulled from the programme by the broadcaster due to “potential insensitivities” in the wake of the Swiss bar fire that killed 40 people.

An ITV spokesperson previously said: “In light of the tragic events in Switzerland, we took the decision to remove Red Panda’s performance on The Masked Singer in tonight’s programme owing to potential insensitivities within the theme and lyrics of the song.

“Viewers will get to see Red Panda perform in the coming weeks.”

At the time, ITV did not reveal what song the act was due to perform.

Who is Red Panda on The Masked Singer?

In a social media post teasing the act this week, Red Panda introduced themself in a disguised voice saying: “Hi, I’m Red Panda, furry firefighter extraordinaire reporting for duty.”

As a clip of a box of dummies was shown, the character continued: “Are we all red-dy? Let’s begin.

“I take my role in fire and rescue very seriously, some people think I’m nuts doing this job.”

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Just some of the other clues shown to The Masked Singer panellists Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Maya Jama and Mo Gilligan in the clip, include a piece of gold and a red envelope with “5 Rio Street, Birmingham” written on it.

Do you have any guesses about who Red Panda could be? Let us know in the comments below.

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Who has been unmasked on The Masked Singer so far?

Here are all the famous faces that have been unmasked on the current series of The Masked Singer on ITV, including The One Show’s Alex Jones:

• Disc Jockey – Alex Jones – TV presenter on BBC’s The One Show (episode 1)
• Teabag – Professor Green – rapper, singer and songwriter (episode 2)
• Yak – John Lydon – Sex Pistols frontman (episode 3)

The Masked Singer continues on January 24 from 7pm on ITV1 and ITVX.