Heather Small has revealed that one of her fears doing the Masked Singer was that she would be mistaken for a football after disguising her distinctive voice for the show.
The 56-year-old - who is the lead singer of the group M People - performed as Chandelier on the opening episode of the ITV singing competition's third series on Saturday.
She however became the first contestant to be unmasked in the latest series following her performance of the country music standard Crazy, released by Patsy Cline in 1961.
And following her elimination from the show - which sees celebrities perform whilst in elaborate disguises - Heather has opened up about her fears going into the experience.
The singer - whose hits including Proud and Moving On Up - has admitted that she had been worried that she might embarrass herself or even ruin her reputation on the show.
Heather commented following her exit: "I don't see it as a singing show. I see it as a guessing game."
She said: "So for me it was that I didn't want people to think 'oh my good grief – that Chandelier is terrible' [or] 'obviously that Chandelier is a footballer.' I wanted people to think I was a singer."
The Strictly Come Dancing alum added: "So that was the thing. I was like, 'oh my God, I'll do in my reputation in an hour's show.' You think about these things."
Discussing her reason for taking part, she said: "I wanted to see if I could, after 30 years of singing, disguise my voice, put on a different persona. And I had that shock of a reveal."
"I didn't make it to the end but I still feel like I won because the panel's reaction was priceless," the singer added.
Heather wasn't the only celebrity unmasked on the show this weekend, as the episode on Sunday night saw TV presenter Gloria Hunniford voted out of the competition.
The 81-year-old had performed Big Spender, popularised by Shirley Bassey in 1967, as Snow Leopard. The character was unveiled as the Loose Women panelist shortly after.
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Ten participants now remain in the competition, including Poodle and Firework. Their identities will be revealed in subsequent episodes - hosted by Joel Dommett, 36.
The third series of the Masked Singer UK continues on Saturday night (January 8) from 7pm on ITV and ITV Hub.
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