Masked Dancer's Viper unmasked as Jordan Banjo as he's first out of competition

Viper was unmasked as Jordan Banjo on The Masked Dancer tonight.

This evening, judges Mo Gilligan, Davina McCall and Jonathan Ross were joined by Strictly star Oti Mabuse as they tried their hardest to guess who was who.

But fans were left confused that the judges had chosen to boot such a good dancer off the show first after criticisng Beetroot for hardly moving in her routine.

One tweeted: "#maskeddanceruk #MaskedDancer you got rid of a dancer (a good one at that) for someone who walked and was lifted up by a backup dancer. Shame! I'm done watching this."

While another commented: "Jordan's a professional dancer and gets voted off on the first show, nooooo Can't wait to hear this being spoken about on the radio with Perri #MaskedDancer #kissfm."

A third wrote: "#maskeddancer shocked who they sent home."

"Seriously Beetroot Over Viper aka Jordan Banjo. I am very disappointed with the panels choice #MaskedDancerUK #maskeddancer #itv," another commented.

Inevitably, it was going to be a challenge as they weren't able to rely on hearing their voices in their singing, but watching how they moved instead as they showed off their dance moves.

Only six of the 12 celebs danced tonight, which included Zip, Scarecrow, Beetroot, Viper, Knickerbocker Glory and Llama.

Viper had wowed with their performance on the show (ITV)

The other six - Carwash, Beagle, Squirrel, Frog, Rubber Chicken and Flamingo - will be performing tomorrow night.

While this version of the show hasn't yet aired in the UK, its US counterpart has and saw Ice-T knocked out in the first round and US gymnast Gabby Douglas crowned the winner.

This comes after the Masked Dancer proved to be a huge ratings success for ITV, with Sausage's win in February this year breaking records.

The final of the second series peaked at 10.6million, with an average of 8.6million tuning in to watch the show - which was up by 2.2million on the last series in 2020.

The Masked Dancer began airing this evening (ITV)

Sausage managed to beat Badger and Robin to secure the crown and was unmasked as singer Joss Stone, leaving the judges utterly speechless.

Meanwhile, Badger was unmasked as singer-songwriter Ne-Yo and Robin as JLS star Aston Merrygold.

Following the release of the ratings, ITV's Managing Director Kevin Lygo said at the time: "In these testing times, we’re delighted that The Masked Singer has brought some escapist joy and light relief to so many viewers at home.

"At the end of a long week in lockdown we’re all coming together and trying to guess who’s dressed as a giant sausage, and quite frankly, it’s been a brilliantly entertaining tonic."

*The Masked Dancer airs tomorrow at 7.30pm on ITV