Pufferfish has been announced as the winner of The Masked Singer 2025 following a a nail-biting final on Saturday night.

The character narrowly fought off stiff competition from Dressed Crab and Wolf to be unveiled as the champion of the latest series, after wowing with a rendition of Britney Spears‘ Baby, One More Time.

And after Gregory Porter and Marti Pellow were announced as her fellow finalists, Pufferfish was later revealed to be none other than Samantha Barks.

The actress and singer, 34, beamed as her identity was revealed after the judges Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Maya Jama and guest panelist Danny Jones correctly guesses that she was masquerading as Pufferfish.

Addressing everyone after her unveiling, Samantha said: ‘I’ve had the best time. Underneath the mask, I’ve been smiling so hard – it’s hurting my cheeks! It’s been amazing.’

Samantha added that after years playing the role of Elsa in the West End production of Frozen, she loved taking on ‘new styles’ each week and noted she had ‘lived a double life’ during the ‘crazy experience’.

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Pufferfish has been announced as the winner of The Masked Singer 2025 following a a nail-biting final on Saturday night

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After Gregory Porter and Marti Pellow were announced as her fellow finalists, Pufferfish was later revealed to be none other than Samantha Barks

Earlier, Gregory Porter was revealed as Dressed Crab, while Marti Pellow was unmasked as Wolf

Speaking in an interview after being crowned champion, Samantha said of the experience: ‘You know what this has been the most fun experience. I’ve loved this whole secret spy life and I can’t believe it’s over and I can’t believe I won?

‘I loved Pufferfish. Now it’s gone I don’t know how to be without the Pufferfish anymore!’

During the show, Samantha also duetted with last year’s winner, belting out a cracking version of Total Eclipse Of The Heart.

On their duet, she gushed: ‘That was a real highlight for me because the minute I found out I was going to be the duet with him, creatively I’m obsessed with that.

‘Two fish falling in love, an 80s power ballad and his voice. So exciting. I loved that. I felt very lucky to sing with him. He’s very talented.’

Following an incredible career on stage and screens, Samantha detailed how being on the Masked Singer compared.

She said: ‘It’s a funny thing because as the competition goes on you really get invested, you really care. Pouring your heart and soul into it and then you have to stop, have a look at yourself in the mirror, you are dressed as fish so before you get too nervous, you have to smile.

‘It’s been so fun to get to perform inside the mask. It’s been so liberating in a way as well as you’re not you. I loved it.’

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The character narrowly fought off stiff competition from Dressed Crab [right]and Wolf to be unveiled as the champion of the latest series

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Addressing everyone after her unveiling, Samantha said: ‘I’ve had the best time. Underneath the mask, I’ve been smiling so hard – it’s hurting my cheeks! It’s been amazing’

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Samantha added that after years playing the role of Elsa in the West End production of Frozen, she loved taking on ‘new styles’ each week and noted she had ‘lived a double life’ during the ‘crazy experience’

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On her duet with Danny Jones, she shared: ‘That was a real highlight for me because the minute I found out I was going to be the duet with him, creatively I’m obsessed with that’

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Following her big win, The Masked Singer viewers flocked to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their reaction

Following her big win, The Masked Singer viewers flocked to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their reaction.

They penned: ‘SUPERB! Congrats to Samantha – amazing voice, and singing an iconic song from #Dreamgirls – you had me in tears! xxxx When does the next series start recording?’

‘What an amazing final – very well deserved #samanthaBarks ( I have to admit to not knowing this amazing person until this show ). Stunning talent’

‘Samantha Barks is an amazing singer her, love her!’

‘I knew it was Samantha, absolutely amazing voice.’

‘So happy #PufferFishwon, she’s been amazing every week! And I guessed right with #samanthabarks what an incredible voice’

‘Well done Samantha Barks congrats’.

Prior to Samantha’s unveiling, Dressed Crab was declared this year’s runner-up before being revealed a Gregory Porter.

The American singer-songwriter, 53, had already been guessed by the judges thanks to his distinctive smooth vocals, and they were delighted when they were confirmed to be correct.

After being unmasked, Gregory admitted that he had to overcome some claustrophobia being in the restrictive costume, before joking: ‘Who needs oxygen?’

In a later interview, he compared the experience to his Grammy-winning, festival-headlining career, remarking: ‘This is up there. I have to say this was an unusual experience!’

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Prior to Samantha’s unveiling, Dressed Crab was declared this year’s runner-up before being revealed a Gregory Porter

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The American singer-songwriter, 53, had already been guessed by the judges thanks to his distinctive smooth vocals, and they were delighted when they were confirmed to be correct

On not being able to share his big secret, he added: ‘It is difficult to run into people I can see through my mask but I couldn’t talk to them. I couldn’t be polite, or nice or curious or just say, “good morning”.’

He added: ‘I realise I’m a person that has to connect with people. I need to feel and see the people. It actually just confirms who I am as an artist, a vocalist. I need the mask off!’

It comes after Wolf was unveiled as legendary 80s singer Marti Pellow during the final episode of the latest series.

The canine character narrowly missed out on a place in the top two as Pufferfish and Dressed Crab received the most votes from viewers.

And as host Joel Dommett requested Wolf remove their mask, the judges were left stunned as none other than Marti was revealed.

The lead singer of pop band Wet Wet Wet, 59, beamed as the crowd cheered after he was unveiled, with judges Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Maya Jama and guest panelist Danny Jones barely able to believe it was him.

Last year’s winner Danny hailed the singer as an ‘absolute legend’, with Marti saying how being on the show was an ‘incredible experience’.

The Love Is All Around hitmaker also joked that Maya’s guess as ‘the guy from Location Location Location‘ was the ‘worst guess’ he’d heard, with the singer admitting that he struggled to contain his laughter.

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It comes after The Masked Singer’s Wolf was unveiled as a legendary 80s singer

The canine character narrowly missed out on a place in the top two as Pufferfish and Dressed Crab received the most votes from viewers

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As host Joel Dommett requested Wolf remove their mask, the judges were left stunned as none other than Marti Pellow was revealed

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The lead singer of pop band Wet Wet Wet, 59, beamed as the crowd cheered after he was unveiled, with judges Davina McCall , Jonathan Ross , Maya Jama and guest panelist Danny Jones barely able to believe it was him

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Speaking following the show, Marti said the experience had been an ‘Absolute pleasure’, adding: ‘From day one I threw myself into it and I enjoyed it’

Earlier in the show, the performer wowed with his rendition of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face, before joining former contestant Knitting (Claire Richards) for a romantic duet of the song With You I’m Born Again.

With the clues clearly throwing the panel, they came up with a number of varied guesses including Midge Ure, Peter Kay, Billy Idol and Toploader’s Joseph Washbourn.

Speaking following the show, Marti said the experience had been an ‘Absolute pleasure’, adding: ‘From day one I threw myself into it and I enjoyed it.

‘As soon as I got to meet all the people involved and saw their passion and enthusiasm for the show I knew that would rub off on me.’

He added of the whole experience: ‘I think you get real pinnacle moments. To be involved in a show which has got so much passion and so much involvement with designers and deciding what the character is going to be, you feel very committed to it.

‘The more that you explore that and work with the artistic team and the people behind the scenes the more enjoyment you have.’