American actress and singer Keala Settle has been revealed as a contestant on ITV1’s The Masked Singer.

The 48-year-old theatre star told the judges that they did not make “many close” guesses, even though one of the hints pointed to her Golden Globe win for the musical The Greatest Showman.

When she was unmasked as Air Fryer on Saturday’s semi-final, Settle said she was “pleased and privileged to be able to do it” and there had been no physical difficulty with her square-style outfit.

Settle said: “You have this facade that you’re used to, you know, performing, being that person, and when this is off? That’s off, this is what they’re looking for.

“It was a massive learning experience and it was a game changer.”

She also appeared surprise that a previous guest judge, comedian and Absolutely Fabulous star Jennifer Saunders, did not guess her identity before the semi-final as they had starred in a London musical adaption of Sister Act together.

Comedian Mo Gilligan said Settle’s performance was “absolutely phenomenal” before adding: “Some of the songs you were singing, it was almost like this show could go on for like 10 years and we would never know.”

The latest guest panellist was ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly, who was revealed to be the singer Owl on a previous episode.