When you signed up to The Masked Singer, did you have any idea how emotional you’d be watching people dressed in funny costumes, singing their hearts out?

I think there’s so many emotional aspects to this show that I wasn’t really prepared for! I knew it was going to be fun and I knew it was going to be a bit ridiculous, but I hadn’t factored in what it feels like to watch little kids in the studio and seeing how invested they are. Also, I hadn’t factored in what it might mean to the singers. So for lots of singers, it’s overcoming a huge fear that they’ve had. It might be doing something for their kids that they wanted to surprise them with. It might be just for the hell of it. And also how weirdly emotional it can be. This series Weather is an interesting character because they have such a beautiful costume and then an unmistakable voice.

You won a BAFTA last year, what do you think that says about the series?

It always swings hugely from being sublimely ridiculous to really stunning and magical. There’s a million reasons why I believe it deserves a BAFTA, because if you haven’t watched it, you’d think, “Oh, that’s just a ridiculous show”, but it’s so much more than that. There’s so many aspects. There’s the entertainment aspect. There’s the quiz aspect. There’s the bit where you can take part in it at home alongside everybody else. It’s massive online because everybody’s going, “No, I think it’s this person. No, actually this person.” We’ve gone next level with the clues this year and they really are disguising their voices. Joel’s on the best form ever. His links are so funny. It’s different from any other big shiny floor entertainment show because you are not voting somebody off, the audience chooses who are in the bottom two, and they choose who are in the bottom two generally out of a mixture of talent and fun.

How have you prepared for this series?

Do you know what? I’ve been looking through all the celebrity magazines to see who’s around at the moment. I’ve been doing my homework!

You made Masked Singer history last year with the most amount of correct guesses, what’s your secret and are you feeling the pressure this year?

I have no secret, because it’s gone this year! I might be a one hit wonder! I don’t like it when I know 100% who it is. It actually takes the fun out of it for me. It’s much more enjoyable when you think, “do you know what? I think it’s this person, but I’m probably wrong”.

The Masked Singer starts Saturday 30 December at 7pm on ITV1, ITVX and STV