Masked Singer Australia was back on screens Down Under this week for its second season but it seems that not as many Australians were keen to get guessing as they were last year.
The reality show, which airs on Australia's Channel 10, reportedly suffered a ratings drop with Mumbrella reporting that 823,000 metro viewers watched the first unmasking, with 733,000 tuning in for the episode overall.
The ratings declined by 30% in comparison with the first season's opening episode, which attracted 1.162 metro viewers.
Related: Masked Singer UK host gives season 2 update
The episode, which unmasked tennis champion Mark Philippoussis as the Echidna, was beaten by the season finale of Australian Ninja Warrior, which was watched by 1.99 million metro viewers.
Channel 10's head of programming Daniel Monaghan said that the channel was pleased with the show's performance, saying, "The Masked Singer has roared back onto our screens with all the fun, spectacle and wackiness Australians have come to love from this show.
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"The Masked Singer Australia significantly lifted our audience in its timeslot and created real buzz on social media last night. The best is yet to come, with great singing, great dancing and lots of jaw-dropping moments as we reveal who is behind the masks."
The Masked Singer, which features a panel of judges trying to guess the identity of celebrities who sing while inside a huge costume and mask, has become a global hit and has versions in countries including the USA, UK, South Korea, France, Germany, Portugal and Thailand.
Related: Masked Singer US boss teases big changes in season 4
The Australian version has Jackie O, Dave Hughes, Dannii Minogue and Urzila Carlson as panellists, with Urzila replacing season one panellist Lindsay Lohan.
Its first season was won by singer, actor and model Cody Simpson, who was disguised as Robot.
The UK version of the show is due to begin filming its second season this autumn, with panellist Davina McCall confirming that work will begin "in September or October", although the show may not have a live audience this time around due to social distancing measures.
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Reporter & Sub-Editor, Digital Spy Susannah is a freelance writer and sub-editor, specialising in the entertainment industry. She graduated in 2014, with a BA in English and American Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Producing. She’s been writing for Digital Spy ever since, after first getting involved through work experience, and has written hundreds of stories for the site on a range of topics, from The Sims to Doctor Who. Susannah has also written for Reveal Magazine. Her special interests are soaps (her Mastermind subject would be 2000s Coronation Street), Marvel and Star Wars. She can also quote far too many lines from Friends and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
