Martin Kemp reflects on his The Masked Singer appearance

Series four of the bonkers singing show The Masked Singer is underway, and on Saturday night's (14th January) episode, the first-ever duo on the show were unmasked as a famous couple, much to the surprise of the judging panel.

The show's characters Cat & Mouse were revealed to be Greatest Hits Radio presenter and Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp, and his wife and singer Shirlie Kemp, who performed as part of Wham! as well as duo Pepsi & Shirlie in the 80s.

They were the third and fourth contestants to be eliminated after ending up in the bottom two against Knitting. In the end, the judges - Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Mo Gilligan - decided to send Cat & Mouse home. They were surprised when the characters were unmasked as Martin and Shirlie, with Davina saying: "That was the best reveal ever, you blew my mind."

Following the show airing at the weekend, Martin appeared on the Greatest Hits Radio Breakfast Show on Monday 16th January to talk about his experience on the series with Breakfast host Rossie. He commented: "The judge’s feedback I thought was really fair. They said ‘the Mouse could sing, and the Cat was struggling’ and I thought that was fair!"

While Martin has sung on several Spandau Ballet songs including 'True', he explained: "I’ve never thought of myself as a singer, but I love doing it because when you sing at the top of your lungs you get this incredible endorphin push. That’s why people sing at football, sing in church, because you feel so great doing it, and that’s what I experienced. And I promise you guys, so many people out there say I never sing because I can’t, just do it, be it on your own or whatever, sort out what key you can sing in and sing along to your records because it makes you feel great!"

Watch Cat & Mouse perform on The Masked Singer:

The singers who appear on the show need to keep it a secret from everyone, even their family and Martin revealed that not even their kids Roman and Harley knew they were taking part in the series. He said: "Nobody knew we were doing it! You are absolutely sworn to secrecy, you have to sign an NDA, an actual legal document, to say you will not tell anyone. But you don’t want to anyway, you don’t want to ruin the surprise - that’s what it’s all about. if you’re going to do it you’ve got to commit to these things and you’ve got to be willing to go with it and that was part of the fun, keeping it a surprise."

It sounds like it wasn't all fun though as the costumes could be quite uncomfortable to be in! Martin commented: "It was so hot in that costume I can’t tell you! You can only spend three minutes at the most in that mask because it is so hot. And they come along and they feed you and give you drinks up a straw, as if you’re in a space capsule and you’re going to the moon. It feels isolating and was quite difficult to sing in, but it was a lot of fun, really hard at points, but so much fun."

Take a look at the other characters from series four:

The show does everything it can to keep all of the contestants' identities a secret with Martin telling the Loose Women panel that when they leave the studio "they put you all back into balaclavas, sunglasses and gloves".

Even the contestants aren't allowed to know which other celebs are on the show, and Martin added: "Strangest thing on that show is like in the corridors, you're walking past people every now and again all dressed up. But you know, when I saw the show a couple of weeks ago and I saw Lulu had done it, I thought ‘oh my goodness, I wanted to talk to Lulu'. I must have probably walked past and didn't know it was her!"

How can I listen to Martin Kemp on Greatest Hits Radio?

You can find Martin Kemp here on Greatest Hits Radio every Friday night from 7pm when he hosts The Mix Tape with Martin Kemp.

Tune into the show on your traditional radio, on our free app, on our website, on your Smart Speakers as well as on your TV. Find out more about how to listen to Greatest Hits Radio here.

Now read:

The Mix Tape with Martin Kemp: Everything you need to know

Martin Kemp: From Spandau Ballet to star of the screen

The Masked Singer: Everything you need to know about the bonkers celebrity singing show

How to listen to Greatest Hits Radio:

Listen to Greatest Hits Radio on the free Rayo app, online or on your DAB digital radio. You can also listen on your smart speaker by saying “Play Greatest Hits Radio”.

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