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Host Osher Gunsberg hails dancer for raising alarm before The Masked Singer shutdown

Host Osher Gunsberg says safety is paramount on <i>The Masked Singer</i>.

Host Osher Gunsberg says safety is paramount on The Masked Singer. Photo: AAP

An ill dancer on the set of The Masked Singer has been hailed for raising the coronavirus alarm just hours before filming of the finale.

Production of the reality show, which is shot in Melbourne’s Docklands, has been shut down after several crew members tested positive for COVID-19.

The entire production team, including host Osher Gunsberg and celebrity judges Dannii Minogue and Dave Hughes, are in self-isolation.

Gunsberg revealed the Network Ten show, in which masked celebrities compete against each other in a singing competition, was two hours away from recording its grand finale.

“We are ready to go and … this young person put their hand up and said, ‘Hang on, guys, I’m not feeling so great, I should probably let you know this’,” he told The Project on Sunday night.

“They were brave enough to pull the emergency brake on this freight train.

“We hit stop and everything shut down.”

Gunsberg, who is awaiting his test result, hoped their courage would serve as an example to others.

“Nothing is as important as everyone’s safety,” he said.

The show was granted an exemption to keep filming in Melbourne despite the city’s strict Stage 4 lockdown restrictions.

“There are some productions if they weren’t to continue then they would be lost to Victoria,” Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters on Sunday.

“It’s done on a case-by-case basis and it’s always accompanied by a COVIDSafe Plan.”

Chief health officer Brett Sutton said a number of staff had tested positive but insisted it did not necessarily mean there had been a breach of any guidelines.

Gunsberg said the show’s producers had been working “hand in glove” with the Department of Health and Human Services to prove production was safe.

“I’m really militant about this stuff (COVID-19),” he said.

“I’ve never been on a stricter set, on a more segregated set.

“Everyone was working in little pods. No people crossed over.”

The health department is continuing to investigate the outbreak.

-AAP

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