Masked singer star John Thomson says performing in costume was 'hell on earth' 

The Masked Singer star John Thomson described performing in his Bush Baby costume as "hell on Earth".

The actor, known for appearing in TV comedy Cold Feet, was eliminated from the talent show on Saturday, unmasked after his performance of Please Release Me by Engelbert Humperdinck.

Thomson said he enjoyed his time on the show and was glad not to be the first celebrity given the boot - however he will not miss the costume.

"Awful, just hell, hell on earth," he said of performing in the suit. "The only fun part is working out where everything is. As an actor I found the whole thing fascinating to do. Because your face is your tool, really."

Thomson added: "There were parts of it I loved but the heat wasn't something I loved at all."

Thomson, also known for his work on Men Behaving Badly and Coronation Street, revealed he was invited to take part in the first series of The Masked Singer but could not make it due to his work on Cold Feet.

Explaining his strategy on the show, the 51-year-old comedian said he would try and entertain the audience when the cameras stopped rolling in a bid to impress them.

He said: "Because the audience vote for you and I used to clown around a lot.

"Anything else that could aid and abet me, because you don't want to go out first, do you? Fifth, bang in the middle, that's just lovely. Because I wasn't in it to win it. I just thought that's perfect."

The Masked Singer judges failed to guess Thomson's identity after he fooled them with a fake Australian accent.

He said being on the show felt "lonely" due to the measures needed to avoid being identified and admitted he would have liked to have met his fellow contestants.

However, he did listen to another celebrity rehearsing and gave a clue as to their identity, claiming they are a "professional, black, male singer".

The Masked Singer continues on ITV on Saturdays at 7pm.