Watch the moment Natalie Cassidy's family go WILD after discovering her identity as Bush on The Masked Singer - after she narrowly missing out on a spot in the grand final

Natalie Cassidy took to Instagram to share the moment her family discovered her identity as Bush on The Masked singer along with the rest of the nation on Saturday. 

The EastEnders legend, 41, collapsed into hysterics as her nearest and dearest were left both shocked and confused by the revelation. 

In the clip Natalie, who recently quit her role as Sonia Fowler, cuddled daughter Joanie, eight, while gathered around the telly with her huge family for the big moment.

Everyone had their eyes glued to the screen before screaming and shouting 'I knew it!' as the actress removed her huge mask on stage.

On the show Natalie said eldest daughter Eliza, 14m would either be delighted or horrofied by the surprise appearance, and she was correct as the teen squealed: 'I am so embarrassed!'. 

The soap star threw back her head and chuckled before sharing a high five to celebrate her managing keeping it a secret.  

Natalie captioned the post: 'THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC! When you think something is really scary and you can’t think of anything worse- but you know it will be fun.. DO IT'. 

'I am not a singer, but I was made to feel like one! I had the most amazing time doing this show. I was absolutely petrified, but everyone looked after me and I felt so loved. To see the kids so excited when I was unmasked was the best thing ever. So happy the secret is out!'.

The semi final saw Bush and Bear narrowly miss out on a place in the grand final, with Natalie leaving judges Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Mo Gilligan and Maya Jama, alongside guest judge Richard E. Grant, stunned when she removed her mask.

Her unveiling came hot on the heels of Bear, who had earlier been unmasked as rapper Example.

Natalie excitedly said of being on the show: 'It's been one the best jobs I've ever done. Absolutely amazing. 

'My fourteen year old she's either going to say, "mum I'm really proud of you or this is the most embarrassing thing me for me ever!"'

Speaking about the difficulties of performing on the show, Natalie later said in an interview: 'It was well ‘ard! It was very nerve wracking for me because I’m not a singer. 

'I feel like I’ve challenged myself doing this and it is just so fun and because it's something I don’t do it doesn’t really matter. So there was no pressure and I kept going through, I couldn’t believe it. I kept going and going!'

On having reached the semi-final, she shared: 'It's ridiculous. It's so stupid but it's about the character. It's not a singing competition, it's a guessing game. It's not really about the singing up until the end and then I think the singing becomes important.'

Despite coming very close, none of the judges managed to identify the actress as Bush- who had wowed in the show with renditions of ABBA's Thank You For The Music and Lisa Loeb's Stay.

Speaking about the judges' attempts, she said: 'They were very close. Very, very close at times, near to the bone but I was pleased that they didn’t get me.'

She added: 'I have got quite a recognisable voice so I can’t believe they didn’t get me!' 

Despite the judges failing to guess her identity, several viewers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to remark that they knew it was Natalie all along.

They penned: 'So happy i guessed that Bush was @Nat_Cassidy on @Masked SingerUK!!

'I needed this win today. I knew it all along!' 

'Bush was Natalie Cassidy I was adamant Stacey Solomon in the beginning but now I’m so happy I got it right !' 

Meanwhile, after masquerading as Bear, Example said upon his unmasking: 'I sound like me when I sing my records and I rap like me, so I needed to do something different every week!'

The musician, real name Elliot John Gleave, later went on to discuss what it was like showing a different side of him.

In an interview, he explained: 'I’m known for dance music but I've done eight albums and across these there’s been every genre. I’ve done a bit of grunge, I’ve done a bit of heavy metal and obviously drum and bass and a rap over garage and house music and techno.

'I’m quite versatile but I also just love theatre and theatrics and impressions and voices. So this show is a nice opportunity to do all that.'

 On how being on The Masked Singer compares to his chart-topping music career, he added: 'I didn’t know how far I was going to get because I’ve watched the show before and sometimes the best singers go out. 

'By no means do I see myself as the best singer, I see myself as a really good entertainer but there are people on this show with amazing voices and they’ve gone out early so I’m extremely happy to have got to the last five. I’m buzzing, I get to fly home and see my kids.'

The Masked Singer final airs Saturday 15 February at 7pm on ITV and ITVX.