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THE Masked Singer viewers were left baffled tonight as winner Pufferfish finally removed her mask.

Fans of the ITV guessing game were stunned when West End’s leading lady, Samantha Barks was behind the costume.

ITV

Samantha Barks was unmasked as Pufferfish in tonight’s final[/caption]

ITV

The West End star was crowned champion after beating Wolf and Dressed Crab[/caption]

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But many ITV viewers had ‘no idea’ who Samantha was[/caption]

Although Samantha is best known for her role on stage as Elsa in acclaimed adaption of Frozen, some watching at home had “no idea” who she was.

One viewer wrote: “What’s the point of putting people on the show when nobody knows who the f*** they are.”

A second wrote: “I haven’t a clue who she is,” while a third echoed: “Very enjoyable But sadly, I don’t attend musical theatre in London so I had no idea who Samantha was Gregory Porter and Marti Pellow were amazing though!”

Another added: “Never heard of her.”

Samantha beat off competition from Dressed Crab and Wolf who were also revealed to be major stars.

The show’s panel – Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Maya Jama and guest judge Danny Jones – were left in awe when Samantha took off their mask to finally confirm their identity.

Speaking after she was unmasked, the star said to the panel: “I’ve had the best time, I’ve had the best time. Underneath the mask I’ve been smiling the whole time.”

Samantha, 34, rose to fame in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BBC talent show I’d Do Anything.

The programme searched for an actress to play Nancy in a revival of Oliver!

She made her film debut in the 2012 adaptation of Les Miserables, starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway.

More recently, she has become the biggest West End star since Elaine Page and is famed for playing Elsa in the theatre production of Frozen.

Finishing a close runner-up to Samantha was Dressed Crab who turned out to be soul and jazz star Gregory Porter.

The 53-year-old has specifically twice won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album – in 2014 and 2017.

In addition, the musician is also known for his recognisable newsboy-style cap.

Wolf fell at the final hurdle and was revealed to have finished in 3rd place in the contest.

It was soon revealed to be iconic 80s singer Marti Pellow.

The singer rose to fame thanks to being the frontman of Wet Wet Wet.

In tonight’s final, the top three all undertook a duet with a past Masked Singer favourite who all made a comeback to the show.

ITV

Pufferfish wowed the judges with her rendition of Britney Spears hit track Hit Me Baby One More Time[/caption]

DARTS champion Luke Littler was a special guest at ringside in Manchester for Jack Catterall’s fight against Arnold Barboza.

The teenage sensation became the youngest champion in darts history after clinching the title aged 17 in January.

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Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn with Luke Littler[/caption]

Now the 18-year-old is enjoying life as a sports superstar, rubbing shoulders with top names.

And he sat ringside with promoter Eddie Hearn at Manchester’s Co-op Live arena to watch the boxing.

He was even captured backstage trying some of Conner Tudsbury’s snacks before the boxer won his professional debut.

Manchester City’s John Stones – following the Premier League champions 4-0 win over Newcastle – was also in attendance.

Littler beat the great Michael van Gerwen to become champ but suffered a dip in form in the aftermath.

He was beaten in Bahrain and Amsterdam before bailing out of the Players Championship in the Last 32.

But he bounced back with victory over friend Luke Humphries to get off the mark in the Premier League.

And the Nuke told Sky Sports: “It was a weird final.

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We both weren’t playing well. Now and then I looked up at the screen and we were both on a 90 average. 

“The crowd got involved. When Luke went 5-4 up, I thought just break him and I did well to hit an 11-darter. That was crucial.

“Getting past Rob, the comeback was unbelievable. I felt really confident against Michael and the final was a weird, weird game.”

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FORMER Arsenal academy starlet Mika Biereth has scored hat-tricks in back-to-back home games for AS Monaco.

The striker, 22, was allowed to leave the Gunners to join Sturm Graz for just £4million last summer.

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Mika Biereth scores against Nantes for AS Monaco[/caption]

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The Swede has impressed since moving to France[/caption]

After excelling in Austria, Biereth signed for Monaco last month in a deal worth up to £12.5m.

While Arsenal have struggled with an injury crisis among their forward players of late, Biereth has excelled since moving to France.

The Swede continued his rich vein of form this afternoon by bagging a brilliant hat-trick against Nantes.

Biereth’s treble helped his side on their way to a 7-1 demolition of Les Canaris at Stade Louis II.

The hat-trick made it seven goals in seven games for his new side, with Biereth having also netted in his previous two home outings.

He scored his first goal for his new side in a 3-2 win over Rennes on January 25.

The 6ft 2in forward then added a hat-trick in a 4-2 triumph over Auxerre.

Biereth is now team-mates with fellow former Arsenal academy graduate Folarin Balogun.

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Biereth, 22, was allowed to leave Arsenal last summer[/caption]

But the US international, 23, has been sidelined for much of this season with a shoulder injury.

Biereth never made a first team appearance for Arsenal.

He made a Premier League matchday squad just once, for a 0-0 draw with Burnley in January 2022.

During his time at Arsenal he spent loan spells at RKC Waalwijk, Motherwell and Sturm Graz.

Seeing his latest goalscoring exploits for Monaco, several Gunners supporters ranted about his sale on social media.

One fumed: “2021… Edu Gaspar I will never forgive you for selling Mika Biereth.. he should have been Arsenal’s main striker.”

While a second claimed: “We could have given Mika Biereth a chance.”

Another added: “Another day to lament about the selling of Mika Biereth. Many of us knew he was class.”

Arsenal are currently without Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli.

Mikel Merino rose from the bench as a makeshift centre forward to net a double in the Gunners’ 2-0 win over Leicester earlier today.

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