Who is Squirrel on The Masked Dancer? Vital clue may have given the game away

The front-runner is currently Bonnie Langford, who is seemingly matching a fair few of the clues.

But the likes of Lady Leshurr and Maisie Smith have been thrown around too, so really, Squirrel could be anyone!

Read on for everything you need to know about Squirrel, including all the guesses, clues and theories for one of The Masked Dancer contestants.

Who is Squirrel? Dances, songs, clues, guesses

Squirrel opened the second show with a bang on Sunday night, making a real impression on the dance floor.

Songs:

• Episode two – Shake It Off by Taylor Swift
• Episode four – Single Ladies by Beyoncé
• Episode five - Scream by Usher
• Episode six - Havana by Camilla Cabello

Clues:

• Doesn't like litter
• References to will.i.am
• The Queen's Speech.
• Squirrel gets "ahead of the game by impersonating other animals".
• Squirrel’s voice sounded “young” and from London.
• “Impersonated” seemed to be a key word.
• “Cutting it with TV royalty from a young age”.
• “Time for this lady to style it out on the dance floor.
• A reference to Cutting It.
• Her famous family was mentioned.
• "This red is lighter, faster and brighter for sure."
• "Us street squirrels don't like to blend in, we're unique, we're individual."
• "I was able to climb trees from a very young age."
• Squirrel says they've reached the top "branch" - could be someone at the top of their career
• I remember giving it a shake and then I was knocked for six' and they saw all the nuts fall to the floor.
• Chequered flag on outfit
• "Bye de bye" written on the Exit sign during performance
• Roger's Biscuits set out in VT.
• "This Squirrel has seen it all."
• Squirrel says they still got "respect" when they became the new person in town.
• "You can't take those Saturdays and Sundays away from me."
• Squirrel mentioned a well known "double act."
• There was a lot of reference to voting during Squirrel's VT.
• Reference to kittens during Squirrel's VT.

Two lies and one truth clues:

• "This isn't the first time I've been this close to Joel."
• "I'm regularly surrounded by superfans."
• "You often see me on Christmas Day."

"Mind the Gaps" clue:

For The Masked Dancer, we have a 'Mind the Gaps' clue for each contestant where they give us a really helpful clue - only two of the keywords are missing from the sentence.

For Squirrel, the clue is:

“This squirrel wasn’t _ when _ got thrown around”.

Word Up clue:

Squirrel's undisguised word was: "Meow"

Guesses:

• Lady Leshurr
• Maisie Smith
• Amanda Holden
• Emily Atack
• Tony Hadley
• Leigh-Anne Pinnock
• Sinitta
• Alesha Dixon
• Nicola Roberts
• Stacey Dooley
• Ashley Roberts
• Cher Lloyd
• Bonnie Langford

The Masked Dancer theories

Is Squirrel Bonnie Langford?

The jury seem pretty convinced Squirrel has once appeared in EastEnders, but the actress' identity may have thrown some off the scent. Recently, Bonnie Langford has emerged as a leading clue on account of some of the songs Squirrel has danced to. Bonnie was famously in Guys and Dolls, which featured a song called Havana - different to the Havana she danced to in the semi final.

Furthermore, a couple more of her shows and films have emerged as clues, like Wombling Free, Cats and Just William. With an extensive career in dance, we wouldn't be surprised if Bonnie's famous red locks under the Squirrel mask.

If that isn't enough, Craig Revel Horwood is certain Squirrel is Bonnie Langford.

Is Squirrel Cher Lloyd?

Viewers have been getting major Cher Lloyd vibes from The Masked Dancer's Squirrel. Following Squirrel's third performance many took to social media to share their thoughts with many thinking the former X Factor star could be behind the fluffy costume.

"It appears I’m the only one who’s realises the squirrel on #MaskedDancerUK#MaskedDancer is @CherLloyd," wrote the eagle-eyed Twitter user.

"The purple represents Worcester and the black and white is a nod to Cheryl who she was mentored by. Thank me later," another said.

Could it be true?

Is Squirrel Ashley Roberts?

Oti thinks former Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts is behind the mask, after picking up on the "kittens" reference during Squirrel's VT. We know that Ashley can move, following her days in the girl group and she appeared on Strictly Come Dancing where she finished runner-up to Stacey Dooley, so we have no doubts about that.

Is Squirrel Lady Leshurr?

One clue in particular directed fans to Lady Leshurr – the Christmas Day clue. What do we watch on December 25th without fail? The Queen's Speech. And Lady Leshurr has a series of rap freestyles called... Queen's Speech. Furthermore, she recently won The Celebrity Circle while impersonating Big Narstie (another hint to the clue package...).

Is Squirrel Maisie Smith?

Viewers are convinced Squirrel is actress Maisie Smith. Following Squirrel's debut performance fans rushed to Twitter to share their thoughts.

"MAISIE SMITH??? #TheMaskedDancer #MaskedDancerUK," one wrote.

"Okay I’m saying maisie smith #TheMaskedDancer," another added.

A third wrote: "@MaskedSingerUK I think #Squirrel could be the amazing @maisie_smith_"

We all know Maisie has lots of dancing experience, and a lot of the clues seem to point to her. During the VT, Squirrel mentioned they'd been around "TV royalty from a young age." Maisie joined EastEnders as Patsy Palmer's on-screen daughter Tiffany Dean in 2008 when she was just six-years-old.

Fans have now spotted a clue from Maisie's Instagram, which they think is an indication she's behind the Squirrel costume.

The actress posted an image of her behind-the-scenes of a job and viewers noticed she still had her microphone on in the photo.

Commenting on the photo, one follower was convinced she'd given it away as they wrote: "That's the same mic as what the Flamingo had in The Masked Dancer, WOW."

"You can even see her mic, it’s the same all the others that have been de-masked have had," another said.

Did Maisie just blow her own cover?

Is Squirrel Amanda Holden?

Davina’s guess of Amanda Holden comes from the Cutting it clue, which was a show that Amanda starred in as Mia Bevan. We know too that she has stage presence, and has been a star of the stage many time – plus she has some time off with Britain’s Got Talent forced to take a break for 2021. She could have squeezed it in!

Is Squirrel Emily Atack?

Emily Atack was a popular choice from both Mo and Oti, and there are several reasons why it could be her under that furry costume. For one, Emily is great at impressions, she has a famous mother in Kate Robbins, and she would be totally up for something as bonkers as The Masked Dancer – but does she have those dance moves? The jury's still out for now...

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Is Squirrel Tony Hadley?

We thought this was a typical Jonathan Ross joke choice, so we were quite surprised to see his face in the four guesses clues – but then there were not many guesses for Squirrel. But while he is in the running, we would be stunned if the Spandau Ballet star had agreed to do this – it is a far cry from his appearance on something like I’m a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here!.

Is Squirrel Leigh-Anne Pinnock?

Another unlikely guess is Leigh-Anne Pinnock from Little Mix. While one or two of the clues could point towards her, there are many that don't – and frankly, we just can’t see her having time in her busy schedule to do it!

The Masked Dancer is on ITV daily at 7pm or 7:30pm, except Wednesday, 2nd June. Episodes are also available to stream on the ITV Hub. For something else to watch, check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Entertainment hub.