Watch Richie Sambora perform Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah while dressed as a jacket potato

Richie Sambora performing as Jacket Potato — (Image credit: The Masked Singer UK)

Former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora has been "unmasked" as Jacket Potato on TV show The Masked Singer UK.

For the uninitiated, The Masked Singer is a reality TV franchise that originated in South Korea in 2015, in which celebrities sing popular songs whilst dressed in outlandish, often preposterous disguises. A panel of fellow celebrities attempt to identify the singers, the public votes for the best performances, and at the end of every show the performer with the fewest votes is eliminated, and "unmasked".

This week it was Sambora's turn. For weeks he's kept the nation entertained as "Jacket Potato", taking to the mic to battle against a field of stellar contenders including 60s pop icon Lulu (performing as "Piece of Cake") and former World snooker champion Stephen Hendry ("Rubbish").

In Episode 2 Potato Sambora sang Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas, while Episode 4 saw the talented tuber tangle with Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah before defeating Rubbish in a sing-off, where he delivering a rousing version of Pretenders' Brass In Pocket.

Episode 5 saw Carlos Santana's Smooth receive the Jacket Potato treatment, followed by Fleetwood Mac's Go Your Own Way in Episode 6. But it all came crashing down in the semi-finals, with Sambora eliminated after a version of John Newman's number 1 smash Love Me Again failed to impress the watching millions.

The moment of unmasking can be witnessed below, followed by a number of highlight's from Sambora's successful run as Jacket Potato.

"I love being a guitar player and a songwriter, exclaimed Sambora, in the wake of his exit. "And of course I’m very privileged and honoured to have had so much success and the accolades of being a Grammy winner, an Ivor Novello Award winner and a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Songwriters Hall Of Fame inductee, but what I really love to do is sing!"

"My hiatus from Bon Jovi and the Covid impact on my solo touring meant I could only do one thing which is make a new record until I saw The Masked Singer! I loved it and it was a lot of fun to watch it at a time where due to lockdowns and being forced to be at home the world was a little quieter than it had been since Bon Jovi kicked off 37 years ago."

Wait a minute. Did he just say "hiatus"?

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.