ITV 'axes' major Saturday night TV show for failing to compete with Strictly Come Dancing

ITV has reportedly axed The Masked Dancer after it was "rested" after just two seasons.

Presented by Joel Dommett, the show was a spin-off from the hit series, The Masked Singer. It featured celebrities dancing in disguise as they attempted to keep their identities from the judges a secret. There have only been two seasons of The Masked Dancer, with reports suggesting that it won't be returning to our screens. So, what happened to The Masked Dancer, why isn't it coming back to ITV and what has been said about the series supposedly being cancelled? Here's everything you need to know.

Is The Masked Dancer coming back?

The Masked Dancer has reportedly been "axed" by ITV. A source told The Sun: "The Masked Dancer was always something of a tricky sell. But ITV thought it was worth taking a punt on a concept which had clearly struck a chord with the public as The Masked Singer."

The source went on to explain that changing when the series aired to a Saturday night had a big impact on its ability to compete with Strictly Come Dancing.

They continued: "They made the mistake of shifting it from a show that ran every night over a week, to a weekly show that aired on a Saturday night. That saw it go out on the same evening as Strictly Come Dancing, which is a very challenging rival."

The Masked Dancer had featured celebrities including Take That's Howard Donald, actor and dancer Bonnie Langford, Glee actress Heather Morris and Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli.

The reported cancellation of The Masked Dancer should not affect The Masked Singer which has been a huge hit with fans since it launched in 2020. The fifth season ended in February, with McFly's Danny Jones winning the grand prize after being unmasked as the character Piranha, with TV star Alex Brooker named runner-up after performing as Bigfoot and singer Lemar coming in third as Cricket.

Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.