The Masked Singer: Is Red Panda performing this weekend? Reason why Red Panda was missing from episode one explained

The Saturday night favourite returned to screens earlier this month, with 12 new celebrities masked up and hidden from the audience.

Hosted by Joel Dommett and starring judge panelists Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Mo Gilligan and Maya Jama, The Masked Singer has become a Saturday night staple for families across the country.

The first episode saw five stars take to the stage, with one characters removed from broadcast at the last minute. Red Panda had been scheduled to take part in the first episode of the show, but was missing from the line-up on Saturday, January 3.

The hidden celebrity performed in a Red Panda costume and was decked out in a fireman’s outfit, singing Disco Inferno by The Trammps.

ITV issued a statement shortly before the episode was due to hit screen in which it confirmed that the performance was pulled after the recent fire at a bar in a Swiss ski resort that left 40 people dead and 119 others injured on New Year’s Eve.

ITV said in a statement: “In light of the tragic events in Switzerland, we took the decision to remove Red Panda's performance on The Masked Singer in tonight's programme owing to potential insensitivities within the theme and lyrics of the song.”

This meant that the runtime of the launch episode was shortened by 10 minutes. While live viewers were unable to watch Red Panda’s clue package and performance, some catch-up viewers reported that the unedited episode had been available to watch on Sky UK's Catch-Up TV.

Despite being edited out of episode one, Red Panda is expected to return to the show this weekend with a brand new performance. They will perform alongside Can of Worms, Gargoyle, Moth, and Sloth before one celebrity is eliminated and unmasked.

The Masked Singer continues at 7pm on Saturday night on ITV1 and STV. You can catch up on the series so far on ITVX and STV Player.