'The Masked Singer Australia' Axed

Two reality shows, The Masked Singer Australia and The Bachelor Australia franchise, have been axed from Channel 10, TV Tonight reports. Both series were hosted by presenter Osher Günsberg.

According to a statement shared by TV Tonight, “Network 10 will be packing away the masks and roses this year, confirming that The Masked Singer and The Bachelor franchises won’t appear in its program schedule.”

Praising Günsberg as a “television presenter extraordinaire”, a representative for Network 10 wrote, “The resting of The Masked Singer Australia and The Bachelor franchise will give Osher a moment to rest his voice which has worked overtime screaming ‘Take It Off’ and simultaneously dropping to a whisper to deliver the iconic line of ‘I’m sorry, but you did not receive a rose’.”

The Masked Singer Australia included judges Chrissie Swan, Mel B, Abbie Chatfield and Dave Hughes.

The cancellation of The Masked Singer Australia is particularly shocking, with last year’s season consistently pulling weekly viewership of 561,000 (on the regular competitive episodes), with the Mask Reveal episodes gathering upwards of 800,000 viewers, peaking at 982,000 viewers of the opening Mask Reveal episode of the season.

Dami Im, dressed in the Snow Fox costume, won last year’s season of The Masked Singer Australia—its fifth and final season, as it turns out. The runner-ups were Darren Hayes as the Grim Reaper and Conrad Sewell as Bouncer.

Elsewhere, the season unmasked the likes of Courtney Act, Amy Sheppard, La Toya Jackson, Pete Murray, TV personality-turned-singer Shaynna Blaze, AFL legend Brendan Fevola, and more.

“It feels amazing to be out [from under the mask],” Im said following her win. “I actually won The X Factor here, on this same stage, exactly ten years ago. And now I’m back winning this!”

Looking to Mel B, she added, “I came to Australia when I was nine years old. I didn’t speak a word of English. But I learnt to speak by listening to the Spice Girls songs.”

Kate Miller-Heidke, dressed as the Queen, was the runner-up in season two of The Masked Singer Australia. She said of her appearance on the show, “It's super liberating. I got to leave myself and my normal hang-ups behind and step into this really strong, larger-than-life character.”