The Masked Singer star Piranha’s costume had to be ‘dialled back’ from its original design after ITV producers demanded that changes be made for the finished look.

The UK version of the TV series has delighted audiences across the nation for the past four years, recently returning for a brand new season featuring characters including Air Fryer, Dippy Egg, Bigfoot and Maypole.

One singer who astounded the panel of judges and viewers with their incredible vocals was Piranha, who performed a stunning rendition of Céline Dion’s It’s All Coming Back to Me Now in the second week of the competition.

Metro.co.uk recently had the chance to speak to The Masked Singer costume designer Tim Simpson for the lowdown on this year’s amazing creations.

Tim, who’s the managing director of Plunge Creations, explained that he had originally envisioned Piranha as a far scarier costume, given the animal’s reputation for being a terrifying, teeth-baring predator in the wild.

However, ITV put their foot down, making sure that the character was ‘softened’ so as to not scare any kids watching.

Piranha astounded audiences with their performance of a Céline Dion classic (Picture: ITV)

‘I wanted Piranha to be much more scary. We softened Piranha because I think there was a bit of a feeling that if we’d made Piranha quite as terrifying as I’d originally drawn him, the ITV audience might turn off and the children might be scared,’ Tim said.

‘So we did a little of dialling Piranha down and giving him a bit more of a lift to the side of the mouth.

‘I think it was a good choice, but there was a bit of me that just… I still want to put something terrifying out on stage and I know I’m not allowed to, and the producers are well aware of this.’

Tim explained how on several occasions in the past, he has tried to get a costume ‘under the wire’… but then he receives an email from ITV that reads: ‘“No, Tim, there’s absolutely no way we’re putting this on telly.”’

‘And I think that’s fair, but I’m always slightly disappointed when it happens,’ he added.

Who could be scared of this adorable Piranha?! (Picture: ITV)

The costume designer speculated that one year he’ll ‘get something’ through, adding that he feels the team ‘almost achieved it in a weird way’ with Knitting in last year’s series.

While the costumes typically at least feature a face, Knitting was different in that regard, as the head was just a ‘ball, a head that’s got two massive spikes through it’ – which Tim acknowledged ‘could be terrifying’.

‘But actually, it ended up being rather cute and fun. I don’t think I’m ever gonna get something quite spooky as I want to go onto Saturday night evening telly. But I’ll keep trying,’ he said.

What about if The Masked Singer did a Halloween special one day?

Many fans are convinced McFly’s Danny Jones is Piranha (Picture: Mike Lewis Photography/Redferns)

‘I think that’s what we need to do – we need to somehow find some excuse,’ he agreed.

‘If you package it as Halloween, then you’re allowed to be scary, right? I think maybe I’ll chat to the producers.’

Following Piranha’s first performance of the series, there are many viewers who are convinced that it’s McFly singer Danny Jones behind the mask.

However, there are others who believe it might be Blue’s Lee Ryan instead.

Among the clues in Piranha’s VT package included the fact that the motion of being underwater makes them a little sick, and they are very shy and scared.

There was a map highlighting Scotland, Ireland and Wales, as well as a Brazilian Portuguese English dictionary. Could these clues really be pointing in Danny’s direction?

The Masked Singer UK returns on Saturday at 7pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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