Julia Sawalha almost "burst into tears" before taking to the stage on 'The Masked Singer'.
Julia Sawalha was unmasked as Bubble Tea on The Masked Singer in front of her on-screen mother
The 55-year-old actress – who is best known for her role as Saffron Monsoon on 'Absolutely Fabulous' – had been taking part in the ITV1 singing competition in which celebrities conceal their identities with extravagant costumes and after she was revealed as Bubble Tea on Saturday (20.01.24) episode, she admitted that she had never been so "terrified" and had to "pull [herself] together" before her performance.
She told The Daily Mirror newspaper: "When I was first being walked through the tunnel, I had this moment where the production team were being so kind and I had a fight or flight moment. I felt like a four year old, I wanted to run. I’ve never been so terrified in my entire career. So, I nearly burst into tears and thought, ‘No, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it?’. I just had to pull myself together."
In her role on the BBC sitcom, Julia played the long-suffering daughter of hapless PR guru Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) and the comedienne had coincidentally been serving as a guest judge on the show alongside regulars Davina McCall, Mo Gilligan and Jonathan Ross,
But the former 'Lark Rise to Candleford' actress worried that viewers of 'The Masked Singer' would worry it was all a "fix" when they saw her reunited with her on-screen mother and insisted that the whole situation was a surprise to them both.
She said: "I was saying to her afterwards, ‘People will think it’s fixed.
"She said, ‘Not when they see my face. I had absolutely no idea!
"It’s weird how the stars align. I could just about make her out. I thought, ‘There’s someone I know.’ It’s lovely. She didn’t know, but I knew, it didn’t intimidate me at all. Completely the opposite!"
Julia lost out on her place in the next stage of the show after going head-to-head with Owl and now the mystery celebrity will battle it out against Piranha, Air Fryer, and Eiffel Tower to remain on the show.
Her exit followed that of 'Strictly Come Dancing' judge Shirley Ballas in week three, whilst 'Pointless' host Alexander Armstrong was unmasked as Chicken Caesar in week two, and 'I'll Never Fall In Love Again' singer Dionne Warwick was unmasked as Weather in the first episode of the new series.