Nicola Roberts thought she was "going to crack" backstage on 'The Masked Singer'.
Nicola Roberts
The former Girls Aloud singer - who won the ITV competition when she was unveiled to be Queen Bee during the final on Saturday night (15.02.20) - admitted she struggled with the intense secrecy surrounding the programme as bosses wanted to keep the identities of the celebrities under wraps, and eventually she insisted on being allowed outside for some fresh air.
Appearing on 'This Morning', she said: "The week before the final I went a bit stir crazy and I left the dressing room and I could hear them, 'Queen Bee's left the dressing room, Queen Bee's left the dressing room!'
"And I went up to a member of production and I was like, 'Can I please walk around the car park just to get a bit of air?' And I could see her about to say, 'That's not a good idea'.
"I was like, 'I'm gonna rephrase. I am going to walk around the car park because I am going to crack!' And then I just went out, breathed all the air in, and I was ready."
The 34-year-old star - who admitted the process of keeping everything secret was "phenomenal" - also revealed she struggled to "breathe" under her costume, and the team had to make some changes to make her more comfortable.
She added: "The first dress rehearsal, the first time I sang the Sia song, not gonna lie, I did have a wobbler! Kinda got halfway through the song and I couldn't breath, I couldn't get the notes out.
"I just walked off, and I could hear them all, 'Queen Bee's left the stage! Queen Bee's left the stage!' I said, 'Guys, this is impossible. I cannot get any air in to sing!' So the balaclava was eyes and a mouth, and we cut the balaclava out, then we took the roll-neck off, took the gloves off. It made it a little bit better!"
Over the weekend, Nicola joked she was actually grateful for the costume because it meant she could hide her facial expressions.
She said: "I loved it. I mean, guys, it's piping hot in there. Especially when you're singing big songs, your face does the wildest things to get the notes out so I was thankful for the mask.
"You just have to stand here and take [the crazy suggestions]. It's so hard when you're saying things and I want to be like, 'Yeah that's it!' or when you're saying crazy suggestions and I'm like, 'No!' Last time I sang like this, it must have been 'Popstar: The Rivals.' "
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