THE Masked Singer fans were left laughing after Natalie Imbruglia’s winning moment reminded them of an iconic X Factor audition.
The singer-songwriter was crowned the winner of the hit ITV series on Saturday night as her character Panda, much to the delight of viewers.
Natalie, 47, was finally unmasked in the final, after judges failed to correctly guess it was her behind the mask.
Fans at home were left stunned to see the Australian star beneath the costume – and as soon as she was revealed, were left reminiscing.
Viewers of the guessing game show were reminded of the time Natalie appeared on The X Factor more than a decade ago.
The former Neighbours star took the place of then-pregnant judge Dannii Minogue for the auditions at Birmingham’s NEC back in 2010.
Former best friends Abbey and Lisa – known to audiences as AbLisa – made history on the show when they stopped singing to have a fight.
The audition promptly came to an end when Abbey punched her pal in the face, before they both stormed off shouting at each other.
It was all sparked by Natalie offering up her criticism to their audition, where she told them: “The singing was not great girls.”
“Who are you, may I ask?” Lisa sassily clapped back, before Abbey turned around in shock, horrified that her friend had insulted Natalie.
Abbey stood open-mouthed before punching her friend in the face and then storming off in the moment which has gone down in TV history.
Fans of The Masked Singer took to Twitter to recall the hilarious scenes, saying they are “always reminded” of it whenever they see Natalie.
“Every time I see Natalie Imbruglia now I think of the time she was a guest judge on The X Factor and a girl from an awful duo after being told no said ‘sorry but who are you?’ and her friend punched her in the face,” one viewer wrote.
A second chimed in: “Just think, if the girl from X Factor had waited 12 years before asking Panda/Natalie Imbruglia ‘who are you?’ she probs wouldn’t have been elbowed in the face.”
“It’s the lady who AbLisa from X Factor didn’t know,” a third joked.
Fans had already suspected it was Natalie behind the mask after it was revealed she would be appearing on the Graham Norton Show next week.
Speaking after her win, the one-time Neighbours star said: “I just loved being Panda. When I put the costume on I would just become Panda.
“I stayed in an American accent the whole time so if I sound weird that’s because I have been flipping.
“I just had so much fun. I made friends with a traffic cone and a mushroom. This is an amazing show and I am thrilled to have been a part of it.”
