Scottish TV host and actor Darren McMullen was revealed to be the man behind the sassy prawn on The Masked Singer Australia on Monday night.
The 37-year-old star – who belted out tunes including Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley and I Want To Break Free by Queen on the show – flew under the radar with many viewers left in shock by the big reveal.
It was the prawn’s banter with Dannii Minogue that led many to believe it was her ex-partner, Kris Smith, under the mask. It all began when Darren whispered Dannii’s name during his rendition of Suspicious Minds, with the star revealing his flirtation was all in good fun.
“Something happens to you when you put that outfit on. I had no control over it – I became this swaggy, Captain Jack Sparrow style prawn,” he tells TV WEEK of his flirty vibe.
“Saying Dannii’s name happened quite accidentally. I tinkered with that in the rehearsal, and then some of the producers came to me and said hey, don’t say any names when you actually do the show. I’m like cool, cool, cool.
“But then you’re nervous, you’re out there. You’ve got a 50kg prawn head on and you’re sweating. I just rehearsed it, so it came out.”
The Prawn was known for his swagger on The Masked Singer.
Darren reveals he also said Jackie O’s name, though the panel didn’t hear it and assumed he was somehow involved with Dannii.
“It became this whole thing like ‘it must be Kris Smith’. I ran up to the producers afterwards like ‘oh my god I’m so sorry it just came out. I was in the moment.’ But they loved it, because it started all this Kris stuff. It actually worked out quite well.”
He admits it was “brilliant” and “hilarious” to watch the public incorrectly guessing Kris, along with the likes of Ronan Keating or Freddie Flintoff.
With viewers praising Darren’s voice, many have begun to wonder if he’d like to pursue a career in music.
“I’ve always wanted to perform,” he reveals. “Five seasons of hosting The Voice Australia and I was like, ‘God, I really wish that was me on stage!’ It was great to live that fantasy and give that a crack.
“I don’t want to release an album or anything like that, but I’d love to do some musical theatre,” he says.
Dannii Minogue thought the prawn might be her ex-partner, Kris Smith.
Of course, Darren has been keeping busy recently with a leading role as Findlay Knox in Nine’s revival of Seachange. A role that convinced him to move back to Australia.
“It came at the perfect time in my life where I was assessing coming back to Australia and if it was a permanent move I wanted to make,” Darren says.
“Then all of a sudden I got this role filming up in Brunswick Heads, this beautiful tropical paradise. Waking up every day and watching the sunrise and playing make believe for a living. It sealed the deal for me.”
It doesn’t hurt that Darren was working alongside screen legends like Sigrid Thornton and John Howard as Laura Gibson and Bob Jelly.
“It’s just a total masterclass in acting. Because everyone is so different in their acting style,” he says.
“I’m very, very, thankful I got to do the majority of my scenes with Brooke Satchwell (Miranda Gibson) because she’s such a naturally beautiful and gifted actor. It was very easy to drop into character with her and just be present and in the moment.
“Kerry Armstrong (Heather Jelly) is phenomenal as well,” he adds. “They’re all just so good in their own way and a lot of the young crew I really enjoyed working with as well.”
Darren and Brooke in the Seachange revival.
Darren confirms he’d love to return to the fictional town of Pearl Bay a second time, should the opportunity arise.
“Hopefully we get to do it all again,’ he says. “Because season two always feels better to me, when you get a chance to work out all the kinks and do it again.
“I can certainly imagine worse things to do with four months of life than being in Byron Bay playing Findlay Knox.”
The Masked Singer Australia airs Monday and Tuesday, 7:30pm, on Network 10.
