The suspicions of good friend Lynn Van den Broeck have been confirmed: Space Babe and Scooter are Marie Verhulst and Samson. The duo has to The masked singer to leave. “It was such a cool adventure, although I have to admit that I found the suit a bit scary,” says Verhulst. That one eye was creepyespecially for small children. And that is precisely our target audience. So I was a bit worried at first, but I was sold when I saw how cute Samson’s scooter was.” (Read more below the photo)
Samson and Marie during singing rehearsals. — © VTM
Verhulst could still move enough in her futuristic outfit. “I was lucky,” she says. “I could still dance quite well. There are other participants who faced greater challenges. Especially because you have to walk over a bridge every time to go backstage. Tough for some, but for me it wasn’t too bad.”
So no horror stories. “I heard from former participants that sometimes you run out of air and it feels very oppressive, but it wasn’t too bad. Anyway, the one who really sat luxuriously was Samson. It only had room in that scooter.” (Read more below the photo)
Backstage at ‘The masked singer’. — © VTM
When asked how it all worked in practice, Marie answers clearly: “Simple, Samson was in the suit just like me and also sang live. He moved Scooter’s eyes and danced. We always went to rehearsals together.”
But anyone who says Samson knows that the big boss of Studio 100 must of course also be informed about that participation. Although dad Gert Verhulst was not the only one who knew. “Also my friend Jef. Not only because he is my friend and would of course notice that, but he is also the technical manager at Samson. Within the family Ellen knew (Callebout, her plus-mom, ed.) a Victor (Verhulst, her brother, ed.) it too. Viktor himself participated in the Dutch version of The masked singer. So he knows how that works and quickly figured it out. But anyway, I didn’t worry about them. That’s my family. They know this is a secret and would never reveal anything. I trust them through and through.”
Despite the secrecy, investigators and viewers at home had a good idea of who the ‘space duo’ was. “Many people indeed knew it, it was everywhere on X. My friends saw it immediately too. They saw it immediately after the first show. They said, ‘It’s not so much your voice, but rather how you move.’ Especially my fingers, which I apparently move in a specific way.”
“My friends mainly recognized me by my fingers, which I apparently move in a specific way”
Marie Verhulst
Space Babe
“Fortunately, I haven’t had to lie often, rather keep quiet. By the way, I always said: ‘I’m going to work with Samson.’ Then people don’t ask any further questions. I just found it difficult to lie to children. Recently Samson and I had one meet and greet. There were many children there who had made drawings for us with Space Babe and Scooter. To then say straight to those faces: ‘No, that’s not us.’ I couldn’t do that. I would just say: “Wow, what a beautiful drawing.” (Read more below the photo)
Marie Verhulst and Samson just after the unmasking. — © VTM
It is of course not surprising that Marie can sing and dance well on stage. What was amazing was how well Samson could pronounce those song lyrics, even in English. “Yes, that’s true.” (laughs) “Samson would sing better in English. He can do that. But singing always works better for him than just speaking. It must be because of that.”
