Ricky Wilson opens up about The Masked Singer on Virgin Radio

The truth is out on Virgin Radio’s Drivetime host Ricky Wilson over being Phoenix on The Masked Singer.

The Kaiser Chiefs frontman has been dodging the question for weeks, but on Saturday he revealed himself as Phoenix, narrowly missing out on first place, which went to  Busted singer Charlie Simpson as Rhino.

Speaking exclusively to virginradio.co.uk, Ricky opened up about his experiences underneath the colourful costume, the celeb pals who figured him out, and how he really felt about missing out on the top spot.

Ricky admitted to being nervous although he didn’t expect to be because he thought the mask would take away an element of it, but that wasn’t the case.

“I was really nervous, and you can hear it in some of the performances, that I’m nervous during the first verse,” he said.

Ricky went on to confirm what Charlie had previously told virginradio.co.uk – that the secrecy surrounding the show is no joke.

“They don’t fake it,” he added. “Nobody knows, they really don’t know. They’re kept separate, which was a dream for me.”

Talking about his costume, Ricky said: “I thought it was quite safe. It felt like the kind of thing you’d imagine yourself in when you’re trying to get to sleep at night. It was like no one talked to you. It was warm, and fun to lay down on the floor. I could have been asleep instantly. It was lovely. That was a really nice thing.”

Out of his famous pals who tried to suss him out, Ricky shared that not only did David Tennant message, but so did Phillip Schofield, Vanessa Feltz, Spice Girl star Emma Bunton and another Virgin Radio regular, Gaby Roslin.

Despite being sworn to secrecy during his time on the ITV competition, Ricky said he had managed to guess a few other of his Masked Singer co-stars, including Katherine Ryan and Lulu.

He joked: “I knew it was Lulu because I’ve worked with Lulu and she sounded like Lulu and she looked like Lulu and she was Lulu. Chris Kamara, because he’s brilliant.

“But also, I didn’t really want to know. You don’t see any of them, so you don’t know what you compete against. Even in the final, I didn’t hear any of Charlie’s songs. You just have to do what you’re doing, and not worry about it.”

Although he didn’t win, he said it was a unique experience and wanted to go out in the first week.

“Then you do like two shows, and you get to the third,” he said. “And then you think, ‘well, I’ve gotta win it now’. I was in the final, and I was just my competitive competitiveness overtook me!”

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience for Ricky, and he says he showing off a bit in a different way than he’s used to showing off, in that his job is technically just showing off, even on the radio!

Ricky Wilson hosts the weekday Drivetime show (4pm-7pm) on Virgin Radio UK.