Christopher Dean: I was glad to be mistaken for a young man in The Masked Dancer

Christopher Dean has said he was pleased he was mistaken for a younger man while performing in The Masked Dancer.

The ice skater was revealed as Beagle during Thursday’s episode of the ITV show in a double elimination which also saw broadcaster Zoe Ball unmasked as Llama.

After being unmasked, Dean joked that he is “getting on a bit now” and his “knees are starting to give up”.

However speaking after the episode had aired, Dean said he was pleased when panellist Davina McCall guessed Beagle was somebody young.

“Davina kept saying it’s somebody young, a young dancer, so I’m like, ‘Yep, I will take that,” he told the PA news agency.

“I think I have stayed pretty healthy and relatively athletic. I don’t look 63, maybe, when I was dancing.”

However Dean said skating “gets harder by the year”.

“That’s why you train, work out, try to keep yourself fit. So you can keep doing what you’re doing,” he added.

ITV show The Masked Dancer, a spin-off from hit series The Masked Singer, sees celebrities perform routines disguised in elaborate costumes as the panel of Jonathan Ross, Oti Mabuse, Davina McCall and Mo Gilligan try to guess their identities.

Former ski jumper Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards, burlesque star Dita Von Teese, singer Louise Redknapp and Diversity dancer Jordan Banjo have previously had their identities revealed on the programme.

Dean, who is a judge on ITV celebrity skating competition Dancing On Ice, said he is looking forward to being able to do another series of the ITV show in better circumstances once the pandemic has eased.

“It was definitely a challenge with the Covid restrictions and the audience and getting familiar with how it was all going to work,” he said.

“So yes, we are looking forward to getting back to more normality.”

He said he was “proud” that Dancing On Ice was aired during a difficult period in the pandemic.

“You have to pay tribute to all the people behind the scenes who made that happen because it was like an army of people that you had to have to get that on,” he said.

The Masked Dancer continues on ITV on Friday.