Julia Sawalha was revealed as Bubble Tea on Saturday’s episode of The Masked Singer UK.
At the time, guest panelist Jennifer Saunders was stunned as she had no idea Julia was behind the mask.
Actress Julia played Saffron ‘Saffy’ Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous from 1992 to 2012, with the sitcom created by Jennifer, 65, who played her mother Edina ‘Eddie’ Monsoon.
After going against Owl, Bubble Tea was chosen to be unmasked and after revealing her identity, Julia shouted, “Mama!” to a shocked-looking Jenifer.
Jennifer shouted, “Honey, what are you doing here?!”
Actress Julia Sawalha was revealed as Bubble Tea on Saturday’s episode of The Masked Singer UK
Actress Julia played Saffron ‘Saffy’ Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous from 1992 to 2012, with the sitcom created by Jennifer, 65, who played her mother Edina ‘Eddie’ Monsoon
The moment left guest panelist Jennifer stunned as she had no idea Julia was behind the mask this weekend
Julia told host Joel Dommett about her time on the show: ‘I loved it. My friend said earlier this year, “You don’t sing enough Julia.”
‘And then this came up and I thought, “I really have to do something that I’m absolutely terrified of.”
When asked what it was like to see her ‘mother’ again, she replied: ‘Just beautiful… very special.’
However, the moment left some viewers of the show suspicious, with many on social media claiming that the outcome had been fixed as Jennifer was temporarily on the show as a panelist while she replaced regular Rita Ora.
One person wrote on Twitter: ‘What a solution! Bubble Tea/Julia Sawalha had to be exposed because of the AbFab connection to Jennifer Saunders. Makes for a better reveal!’
While someone else posted: ‘It’s obviously another set result so bubble tea was revealed when Jennifer Saunders was on.’
‘That seems like such a solution to me. Producers get Jennifer Saunders on the phone and then tell them to vote out Julia Sawalha. Not one to do this, but I’ll definitely mention it,” someone else shared.
Another show fan asked, “So I guess this is why Bubble Tea was exposed because Jennifer Saunders was on the panel?”
Bubble Tea was chosen to be unmasked and after revealing her identity, Julia shouted, “Mama!” to a shocked-looking Jenifer. Jennifer shouted, “Honey, what are you doing here?!”
Julia (left) and Jennifer (right) both starred in Absolutely Fabulous, with their characters being mother and daughter (pictured in series four in 2001)
Many viewers took to social media to insist the outcome had been resolved, as Jennifer was temporarily on the show as a panellist while filling in for regular Rita Ora.
While someone else commented: ‘That was such a solution so they could expose Julia in front of Jennifer because owl was definitely worse than her!’
Someone else posted: ‘Bubble tea was the perfect person to unmask tonight considering the guest judge!’
“#MaskedSingerUK even after seeing the reveal I still can’t believe who Bubble Tea is!!!,” wrote another audience member at home.
And someone else commented: ‘Genius to have exposed #BubbleTea this week!’
This week the show was kicked off by Piranha, who sang Treasure by Bruno Mars.
They were followed by Eiffel Tower, who performed Robbie Williams’ Angels, and panelist Davina McCall guessed it could be Sex And The City’s Sarah Jessica Parker, while Jonathan Ross said it could be Alison Moyet.
Owl sang S Club 7’s Don’t Stop Movin’ and Mo Gilligan thought she could be Waterloo Road star Kym Marsh, while Saunders suspected former footballer Alex Scott.
Air Fryer sang The Final Countdown of Europe and Ross said it could be Australian actor Russell Crowe.
The Masked Singer UK’s Rat was revealed as Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas on last Saturday’s episode of the singing competition
After the show, Shirley said: “I actually thought the panel’s guesses were quite spectacular. They compared me to all kinds of actors and singers, but never got any clue!’
Referring to panelist Jonathan Ross, Shirley continued: “I was very surprised by Jonathan. I mean, Jonathan is a friend of mine.”
Dancing champion Shirley had given several clues to her real identity during her time on the series, but left panellists, including close friend Jonathan Ross (pictured), stunned
After the sing-off, the panelists decided to save Owl – which meant Bubble Tea was exposed.
It comes after Rat was revealed as Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas during last Saturday’s episode of the singing competition.
Speaking about the panel’s guesses, Shirley told host Joel Dommett: ‘I was actually very flattered because I don’t sing at all and some of the people you said were like, wow!
‘It was one of the best times of my life. It was way out of my comfort zone and I absolutely loved it.”
Referring to panelist Jonathan Ross, Shirley continued: “I was very surprised by Jonathan. I mean, Jonathan is a friend of mine. I’ve been to his shows and we talked about Kilimanjaro, some of those clues he should have known but didn’t get!
‘They were so wrong, they called me some great singers and actors! I’ll take that!’
Dance champion Shirley had given several clues about her real identity during her time on the series.
Alexander Armstrong admitted he was happy to appear ‘dressed as a dick’ on prime time television when he appeared on The Masked Singer UK earlier this month (pictured)
It comes after Dionne Warwick became the first character to be unmasked during the series’ first week (pictured last month)
She noted that she had “crossed the path of danger” after climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief in 2019, while the costume’s tattoos were a nod to the body art she had done on her bum.
She said: ‘I have tattoos all over my bum and then I tattooed my boyfriend’s name on it – I’m not sure if that was a good idea. Bruno (Tonioli) always showed me them to him!’
Shirley’s departure came after Pointless presenter Alexander Armstrong was unmasked as Chicken Caesar in week two, while singer Dionne Warwick was unmasked as Weather in the first episode of the new series.
The Masked Singer UK airs on Saturdays at 7pm on ITV1, ITVX and STV.
