Suzy Cato took no chances in keeping her identity concealed during her appearance on The Masked Singer NZ - even keeping her role on the show a secret from her kids.
Speaking to The Project NZ after being unmasked on the show's debut episode, the beloved children's entertainer said her kids sat down to watch the programme on Monday night with no knowledge their mum was about to take the stage.
"I had to keep it from everybody including my children, so we sat down last night and I said, 'Come and watch this new programme!'" Cato told The Project.
"I started talking as the Tui [on screen] and they looked at me and said, 'Mum, is that you?' And I said: 'No, no darling it's a live show.'"
But the jig was up when Cato started performing Drax Project's 'Woke Up Late'.
"I started singing and they said, 'Mum! Oh my goodness you're so good!'" she explained.
The Suzy's World star said that her voice was "too recognisable" for her to have been able to stay in the competition - where the goal is to guess the celebrity singer behind the mask - but that singing the Drax Project song was a "wonderful challenge".
"I got to choose the song and I thought, 'Right, I need something that's completely different from what I'm used to singing,'" she said.
Cato insisted that none of the celebrities knew who the other competitors were, but that she was rooting for Tuatara, who she sang against in the first episode.
Monday night's episode saw ex-All Black Stephen Donald unmasked as The Moa, with another two famous faces set to be revealed next week.
The Masked Singer NZ airs on Three on Sunday at 7pm and Monday at 7:30pm. Previous episodes can be viewed on ThreeNow.
