Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Brogan-Leigh Hurst

Masked Singer's Aled Jones pinpoints moment he knew he'd given away his identity

The Masked Singer's Aled Jones was unveiled as Traffic Cone over the weekend after making it all the way to the show's semi-final.

The Welsh singer, 55, took part in this year's series of the competition, describing the show as "a bit of fun" to him.

Aled, who made it so close to this weekend's final before he was booted off, has revealed he can pinpoint the exact moment he gave fans the biggest clue of his identity - which led people to start speculating that it was him behind the mask.

Speaking to The Mirror and other publications, Aled said: "I tried to disguise my voice a lot, it wasn't really about singing for me. It was more about trying not to be me."

The Classic FM presenter added: "It was tricky, especially in the Toy Story song because that did sound like me, unfortunately. I don't know if it was nerves or whatever that got to me.

"In rehearsals I very much tried to put all the croak in my voice, but when it came to it I just sounded like Welsh Aled Jones."

Despite the fact fans started to believe it was him from the second week, he was impressed that the judges didn't figure out it was him, until he was unmasked.

Aled impressed the judges and viewers as he took on songs he would never usually perform, including When She Loved Me by Sarah McLachlan.

He managed to keep his identity from the judges - but fans knew it was him from the second week in (ITV)

Aled shared: "I'm really pleased the judges didn't guess who I was - that was definitely a plus! I was everyone from Mr Motivator to David Dickinson."

He added that "only about four people knew my identity".

Sharing how he would convince friends and family it wasn't him, Aled said: "I just laughed it off. I'd say, 'I've never seen the show. I don't know what you're talking about'."

"In the second week lots of people [guessed it was him]. I got lots of texts saying, 'It's definitely you' and I'd be like, 'I don't know what you're talking about'."

Sadly, the journey is over for Traffic Cone, but he believes Panda could be crowned the winner on Saturday.

He confessed: "I think Panda might win. I think Panda has got the cute element and I remember being backstage once and hearing Panda go on and everyone in the audience went, 'Aww!'"

Aled went on to share how the concept of not knowing who anyone is, is "weird".

"I've seen what people have said," he said. "They think Mushroom might be Charlotte Church, which would be really weird because I haven't seen Charlotte since she was a kid - and to think that we would have been in the same building.

"I know Gloria Hunniford really well, I would have said hello to her. You have no idea! It was such a surprise for me that Heather Small was there, and Will Young.

"All these people I've interviewed over the years. I remember my wife saying to me, 'Did you know?' I was like, 'I had no idea'. It's weird you're doing a show that basically it's just you, the backing track and my dancers."

Sharing some backstage secrets, Aled spilled: "You turn up with your balaclava and your visor on and gloves and hoodie, and then you don't see anybody all day, except your vocal coach, who I loved working with."

He said it was a 'fun challenge' for him (PA)

He continued: "I love those big [platform] shoes, they were hilarious. The tricky thing about the costume was, because it went out, you couldn't see your feet. It was very difficult to know where you were walking. Other than that, it was great.

"You can't really see that much either, which is a God send really, because I knew a lot of the crew working on it, so I had to always be quiet and not give the game away."

On his reasoning for joining the show, he explained: "I'm up for a challenge and it was all about fun for me, really, and singing music that I'd never get to sing again."

"I'm going on tour at the end of the month and I'm actually going to sing two songs from The Masked Singer on tour, so this could be a change of career!" he joked.

Aled said he snatched up the opportunity to go on the show when he was approached by ITV bosses.

He said: "I was really thrilled! It is what it is - it's a fun family show that is bright and brash. It's mental, it's crazy!

"And the fact that I've been on TV dressed as a traffic cone - brilliant! I walk the streets now and people shout, 'Hey, Traffic Cone, or coney!'

He laughed: "Makes a change from Snowman."

*The Masked Singer final airs on Saturday.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.