Natalie Imbruglia has confessed she was ‘terrified’ her son Max was going to break her cover as The Masked Singer’s Panda, as it was one of the first words he learnt.
The singer, 47, who was crowned the winner of the ITV reality show in Saturday’s episode, revealed she told the two-year-old, ‘Mummy’s a panda,’ before realising he would soon be able to speak.
She joked about having to ‘keep him locked in the house’ when her little one started blabbing about his mum’s secret role while out in public.
Hilarious: Natalie Imbruglia has admitted she was ‘terrified’ her son Max, 2, would break her cover as The Masked Singer’s Panda when he learned to speak during the show’s filming
She told MailOnline and other press: ‘He’s two. He can’t talk. I didn’t realise he was gonna be able to go, “Mummy, Dadda.”
‘When the show started, he didn’t even say mummy. I was at home saying, “Mummy’s a panda.”
‘We went to a show in Australia and he starts talking so we flew back and suddenly he’s able to point to a panda and say mummy. He wasn’t saying it before we started the show.
‘I was terrified. I thought, “I’m gonna have to keep my child locked in a house until the show ends.” It’s not like you run into any pandas on the street so it was okay.’
Oh no! The singer, 47, revealed she told the two-year-old, ‘Mummy’s a panda,’ before realising he would soon be able to speak
The Torn songstress detailed the adorable moment the tot – who she welcomed via a sperm donor – witnessed her highly-anticipated unmasking.
She said: ‘He was pointing to the telly saying, “Mummy, mummy,” and it was really cute when he saw it was me.’
Natalie went on to exclusively tell MailOnline that would never have taken on the role as Panda on the show before becoming a mum, which motivated her to stay in-character.
She said: ‘100 percent, I don’t think I would even wanted to be a panda if I wasn’t a mum. Everything changes when you become a mum and your focus shifts.
Fun! She joked about having to ‘keep him locked in the house’ when her little one started blabbing about his mum’s secret role while out in public
‘I just thought, “How cool that he’s gonna see this panda and then the head comes off and it’s his mum.”‘
Natalie revealed she was pregnant in July 2019, after undergoing IVF. She has not publicly disclosed the identity of her child’s father.
Natalie was crowned the winner of The Masked Singer, beating Charlotte Church, 35, who was unmasked as Mushroom in second place and Westlife star Mark Feehily, 41, who was revealed to be Robobunny in third place.
And fans of the ITV competition were quick to take to social media, where they branded the result a ‘fix,’ insisting that operatic singer Charlotte should have taken the crown.
Fun! The Torn hitmaker went on to exclusively tell MailOnline that would never have taken on the role as Panda on the show before becoming a mum, which motivated her to stay in-character (pictured on Saturday)
One dumbfounded viewer blasted: ‘wtf???? Panda’s voice was s**t. It’s a fix. #MaskedSingerUK,’ while someone else tweeted: ‘Mushroom was robbed!!! What a fix!!! #MaskedSingerUK.’
Another viewer fumed: ‘Well that’s me changing the channel now! Absolute b**locks that panda won against robo bunny and mushroom, your audience needs looking at!!! Clearly a fix! What a waste of an evening !! #MaskedSingerUK.’
‘How anybody in that audience thinks Panda is a better singer than Robbobunny or Mushroom is beyond me? Mushroom absolutely robbed. Has to be a fix. #MaskedSingerUK,’ mused someone else.
‘Masked Singer what a bl**dy fix!! Can’t believe that Mushroom didn’t win? Who is seriously voting? #MaskedSingerUK,’ asked another.
When contacted by MailOnline, an ITV spokesperson said: ‘The Masked Singer winner is decided by the studio audience.’
Natalie impressed judges Rita Ora, Mo Gilligan, Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross and Joss Stone on Saturday night when she sang Taylor Swift’s hit Blank Space, before performing a duet with comedian Jason Manford, who was Hedgehog in series one.
This year’s final saw Panda, Mushroom and Robobunny battle it out to be crowned the 2022 champion after beating off competition from nine other quirky characters.
Talented: Natalie impressed judges (pictured L-R) Mo Gilligan, Davina McCall, Joss Stone, Rita Ora and Jonathan Ross on Saturday night when she sang Taylor Swift’s hit Blank Space
