Martine McCutcheon appeared on This Morning on Monday where she chatted to Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about The Masked Singer.
Martine, 44, was unveiled as the Swan on Sunday in the show that sees celebrities disguised in elaborate costumes, while the judges try to guess who they are based on their singing.
And former EastEnders star Martine revealed her costume was so heavy she actually needed physiotherapy afterwards to realign her shoulders.
"It was a really hard outfit to wear, I'm not going to lie," said Martine.
"I had a boxing mask on underneath and my face was squashed, I could hardly breathe never mind sing!
"I had to have physio for two weeks afterwards because the wings were so heavy.
"They are made of heavy wire, and the swan was a wire sculpture as well, and it makes your body a bit out of whack, so for me I had to take a couple of weeks afterwards.
"It put me back to normal, but no pain no gain, the show must go on!"
Martine also said she actually had claustrophobia, but she pushed through in the show as she so wanted to impress her son Rafferty, five,and "Be his superhero".
She added: "But I was so relieved when the mask came off, I was like, I can breathe!"
Rafferty was not a big fan of the Swan, said Martine, and he thought the Swan was "boring" compared to Badger and Sausage.
On Jonathan Ross guessing last minute that it was Martine, she said: "It was a full on military operation, ITV pull all the stops out.
"So much is at stake if people find out, so I was really hoping he wouldn't get it.
"I thought he might get it because we have seen each other over the years, we know each other, but that's why I said he would know my speaking voice a million miles away.
"So we had to make me American so I think that steered him away for a while, but I did think he would get me in the end."
Martine said her friend Louise Redknapp, who she went to stage school with, had correctly guessed she was the Swan.
But because she was not allowed to tell her she was correct, she had to just ignore her messages.
Discussing the reason for her costume and the name Swan, Martine explained: "They know I am a showgirl at heart, and I love glam stuff and if I could have I would've been in musical films forever.
"It was a good fit for me, and I started out as a ballet dancer.
"Obviously the swan is the name of many pubs, and I lived opposite a pub for years.
"And that showbiz thing of on the surface keeping everything together and underneath you are going a bit, waah!"
* This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10am
