Exclusive – The Masked Dancer's Tamzin Outhwaite reveals which costume she almost had
The Scarecrow could have been someone else entirely.
Last night's thrilling final of The Masked Dancer saw Carwash crowned the champion of the first series before being unmasked as Louis Smith.
Four contestants, also including Tamzin Outhwaite, Howard Donald and Bonnie Langford, wowed ITV viewers with their stunning routines and colourful costumes.
But the final could have looked a little different, as Scarecrow star Tamzin told RadioTimes.com she initially toyed with wearing another costume.
"We talked about characters and we talked about Zip and I thought, 'that's a great character', but I thought, 'what do I do once you've been funky?'. I suppose I wanted the character that I could completely embody and I could take over," the former EastEnders star explained.
The costume of Zip went to Howard Donald of Take That on the night, but it seems Tamzin was pretty pleased she went with the cutesy Scarecrow in the end.
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"When they said to me Scarecrow, I just thought of the Wizard of Oz and how it's kind of floppy. And also, there's something about the Scarecrow being a bit of an underdog, isn't there? There's something kind of working class about Scarecrow? It just felt right."
The New Tricks actress added: "You're not trying to be the best dancer, you're trying to make sure they don't guess you. So we tried to do things where they wouldn't necessarily know it was me, so it wasn't feminine in any way. We made sure that the costume was big enough for you to not tell if it was a boy or girl for a bit."
Needless to say, Tamzin loved embodying the Scarecrow on The Masked Dancer, especially the moment she was unmasked.
"I think I was nervous about it because I haven't really done much reality TV [before being unmasked], and that what happened was I got unmasked and then it was joyous - it wasn't nerve wracking at all," she revealed.
"It was actually my favourite moment seeing all of their faces."
Read more: All the unmasked contestants on The Masked Dancer
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Authors
Helen Daly is the Associate Editor for Radio Times, overseeing new initiatives and commercial projects for the brand. She was previously Deputy TV Editor at a national publication. She has a BA in English Literature and an MA in Media & Journalism from Newcastle University.
