Following Dave Hughes’ on-air confession that “as far as I know, The Masked Singer won’t be filmed this year for Channel 10,” the network has confirmed it has axed both The Masked Singer and The Bachelor for the year.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: “Network 10 will be packing away the masks and roses this year, confirming that The Masked Singer and The Bachelor franchises won’t appear in its program schedule.”
Osher Günsberg has hosted both franchises since their debuts in 2019 and 2013, respectively.
“The resting of The Masked Singer Australia and The Bachelor franchise will give Osher a moment to rest his voice which has worked overtime screaming ‘Take It Off’ and simultaneously dropping to a whisper to deliver the iconic line of ‘I’m sorry, but you did not receive a rose’,” the statement added.
Günsberg will continue to narrate Bondi Rescue, with Season 18 set to air later in 2024.
In the two most recent seasons, the format had expanded to become The Bachelors, with three eligible men handing our roses as opposed to one.
204,000 people tuned in to the December 2023 season finale of The Bachelors, which saw Ben and Luke choose their partners, while Wes, who had already coupled up with Brea, decided to walk away from the relationship after she asked for more time to figure out what she wanted.
Earlier in 2023, the first finale of The Bachelors had 372,000 viewers tune in to watch Jed, Felix, and Thomas make their final decision.
Channel 10 rested The Bachelorette format in 2022 after Brooke Blurton’s series in 2021.
In November, The Masked Singer Australia Grand Finale saw Dami Im (Snow Fox) named the winner ahead of Darren Hayes (Grim Reaper) and Conrad Sewell (Bouncer). 511,000 watched the episode and 594,000 watched the reveal.
These ratings were recorded before the transition to the VOZ TV ratings measurement.