The Masked Singer star removed from episode after Switzerland tragedy

The Masked Singer UK has made changes to its 2026 launch episode hours before it was due to air.

Tonight, the ITV guessing game launches its seventh series, with Joel Dommett returning as host, while Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Maya Jama, and Mo Gilligan sit on the panel.

In total, 12 new characters will take part this series, but one of them shall be missing from the first episode.

Red Panda was due to take to the stage tonight; however, ITV has confirmed to Metro that the celebrity has been temporarily removed following events in Switzerland this week.

An ITV spokesperson said: ‘In light of the tragic events in Switzerland, we took the decision to remove Red Panda’s performance on The Masked Singer owing to potential insensitivities within the theme and lyrics of the song.

‘Viewers will get to see Red Panda perform in the coming weeks.’

The statement was issued after fans noticed tonight’s episode had been cut down by 10 minutes, beginning at 6:40pm instead of the originally slated 6:30pm.

It is currently unknown what Red Panda’s song choice was or what their staging involved.

However, their costume does include a firefighter’s uniform covered in burn marks.

Earlier this week, a New Year’s party ended in devastation as a fire at a Swiss ski resort killed 40 people and injured 119 others.

The blaze broke out at around 1:30am at the Le Constellation bar, which is popular with tourists.

Among the injured were 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French, and 11 Italians, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal, and Poland, according to Frederic Gisler, police commander of the Valais region.

As mourners pay their respects by leaving flowers and candles in impromptu memorials near the scene and pray for the victims at the nearby Church of Montana-Station, an investigation is underway.

Authorities are planning to look into whether the material on the ceiling of the venue that was designed to muffle sound conformed with regulations.

Officials have added that they would look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.

The Masked Singer airs on ITV1 and ITVX.