Jonathan Ross has revealed that he failed to spot one of his best friends on stage on the Masked Singer.

The chat show host, 62, is a panellist on the show along with Mo Gilligan, Rita Ora and Davina McCall, with them all having to work out who the 12 celebrities behind the mask are.

Speaking about a mystery upcoming moment on the show, Jonathan admitted it was 'slightly embarrassing' not to have realised who one person was because he texts them a lot and they know each other socially.

He told the Mirror: 'After the show I texted them and had a chat with them, so that's embarrassing, it's the first time it's happened to me on the show.' 

Despite his blunder, he said celebrity was one that all of the panel and viewers at home should have got as he teased an upcoming reveal from the show.

The popular contest, which returned to screens this month, is now in its fourth series, with new characters set to include a rubbish bin, an otter and a jacket potato.

There will also be two themed episodes - one on festivals and one a look-back through the decades.

According to Jonathan, when the 'detectives' have an idea in their head about who someone is going to be, they struggle to come away from it and think about other people.

Instead, he said that the panellists end up going back to their strongest guess.

Mo, 34, a presenter and comedian, said of the upcoming fourth series: 'There's an identity to be revealed on the show which I was so shocked by. You could have been running the show for two years and still no one would've got it.'

He added that the clues become obvious when the celebrity is unmasked but it is going to be an interesting one for the public to guess.

Mo added that this year the clues are very difficult, even harder than before. 

He praised his Masked Singer colleagues, saying that all are from different backgrounds and have different interests, something he described as 'cool'.

Meanwhile Jonathan, who favours garish fashion choices, even managed to get Mo into more unusual outfits this series.

For their festival episode, the chat show host plumped for a tracksuit with wellies and face paint.   

But Mo wore a blue suit prompting Jonathan to quip that he was going to an estate agent's festival.

All of the panellists then managed to convince Mo to wear a rainbow-coloured snood which was originally given to Jonathan for the episode. 

Jonathan joked that it can be 'irritating' because Mo looks amazing in whatever he wears.

Mo also wore a glittery hat during the series, something he was proud of.  

Speaking about the audience who watches their show, the men shared that kids love it.

They explained that children love to see the characters come out and want them to go all the way.

Mo added that they enjoy the fun and fresh aspect of the show as it is different each time. 

 The Masked Singer is on ITV1 and ITVX, Saturday, 7pm.