Exclusive – Jordan Banjo on The Masked Dancer elimination: “It’s not a dance competition, it’s a guessing game”
The Diversity star was the first celebrity to be eliminated from The Masked Dancer at the weekend.
ITV's The Masked Dancer – the sister show to The Masked Singer – kicked off this weekend, revealing Jordan Banjo to be the light-footed celebrity behind Viper, the first contestant eliminated from the show.
While many viewers expected the Diversity star and radio presenter to go far in the competition, Banjo told RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview that he didn't feel disheartened by exit as The Masked Dancer is "not a dance competition".
"A lot of people said to me – the first thing I got was like swamped with tweets and messages and comments and DMs going, 'It's ridiculous, you were so good,' and that, and I was like, yeah, I appreciate that, I really do, but the thing is that it's not a dance competition, it's a guessing game.
"So if two of the judges are sat there going, 'I know that's Jordan,' and I knew for a fact Oti, you could hear in her voice, she knew it was me. There was no convincing her otherwise.
"So it was one of them ones where it's like, essentially you're playing a game and if you know the right answer, you're not going to go, 'I know the right answer but keep him in – let's keep guessing!' It's like, 'We know who it is,'" he added.
"It is a guessing game and I was just happy to be a part of it, it was just good fun all round."
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Banjo performed to Lenny Kravitz's Are You Gonna Go My Way during Saturday's show. However, both Mo Gilligan and Oti Mabuse, who are sat on The Masked Dancer judging panel, guessed that it was the Diversity star behind the reptilian mask.
Three celebrities have been eliminated from the competition so far, including Banjo and Dita Von Teese (Beetroot) – the former being a Britain's Got Talent-winning dancer and the latter having earned the nickname the Queen of Burlesque.
The second contestant to leave the show was Louise Redknapp, who took part on the show as Flamingo.
The Masked Dancer begins on Saturday 29th May at 7pm on ITV and ITV Hub. For something else to watch, check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Entertainment hub.
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