Rita Ora lifts the lid on her decades-long friendship with Jonathan Ross, describing him as her ‘mentor’

Rita Ora has lifted the lid on her decades-long friendship with Jonathan Ross, sharing that he has “always been there for her.”

The singer, 33, and the chat show host, 63, are both judges on The Masked Singer, but their friendship long predated the hugely popular ITV show.

Rita sweetly shared how Jonathan has been her mentor since she first started in the music industry over a decade ago.

The pair became fast friends since Rita appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2012, fresh off the success of her breakthrough song Hot Right Now.

Rita talked about their close bond The mirror: ‘Jonathan has always been there for me since the beginning of my career and he has had such a big influence on me. I think with that comes the lightheartedness between us, along with a level of trust.

“It feels really nice to have someone who can handle my sarcasm, but at the same time he knows deep down that he is one of my mentors and that he will always be that person for me.”

Jonathan praised Rita’s ‘extraordinary work ethic’, adding: ‘I think Rita is phenomenal […] I don’t think I’ve met anyone who works as hard as she does.”

The good friends return to also judge the fifth series of The Masked Singer Davina McCall and Mo Gilligan.

The brand new pre-recorded series sees the judges once again try to guess the identities of the masked celebrities performing.

In addition to her return to the UK edition of The Masked Singer, Rita will also replace Nicole Scherzinger as a panellist on the 11th series of the US edition of the show.

Rita has had a very busy schedule in recent weeks, having flown to America in recent days, ready to co-host Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on Sunday.

The Poison hitmaker will direct the annual show alongside Ryan Seacrest, who has helmed the program for 18 years.

Despite her busy schedule, Rita managed to find some time to relax with her husband Taika Waititi in his native New Zealand over Christmas.

The singer, 33, and the chat show host, 63, are both judges on The Masked Singer, but their friendship long predated the hugely popular ITV show

Rita sweetly shared how Jonathan (both pictured in January 2021) has been her mentor since she first started in the music industry over a decade ago

She took to Instagram to give fans an insight into her festive celebrations as she shared some beautiful snaps on Christmas Day.

In the photos, Rita looked stunning in a figure-hugging red mini dress, which she teamed with matching tights and Mary Jane shoes.

She wrote to her fans: ‘Merry Christmas! Love and happiness to you all! On to 2024!’

Rita also explored the local sights as she took a scenic walk on Boxing Day and shared photos from the outing.

She joked in the caption that in a clip of her dancing and singing on the wet sand dunes, she had tried to recreate the iconic video for Coldplay’s 2000 hit Yellow.

‘Happy Boxing Day from me and some foggy beach content, sand dunes and nature hunaaayyy ❤️ I hope you all had a great Christmas!’ wrote Rita.

‘Ps. I tried to recreate Coldplay’s yellow video by realizing I needed more rain and a yellow raincoat.’

Despite her busy schedule, Rita managed to find some time to relax with her husband Taika Waititi in his native New Zealand over Christmas, where she shared beautiful photos from the trip

Rita also explored the local sights as she took a picturesque walk on Boxing Day and shared photos from the outing

Rita also revealed that she is taking some time away from music, as she recently turned her attention to a different career prospect.

Rita has spent time in her home country of Kosovo and has decided to put her songwriting aside while she explores a new career direction: documentary filmmaking.

The hitmaker has been working with the same team behind the latest Nirvana film as she delves into a project focusing on the youth culture of her home country.

Rita was born in Kosovo’s capital Pristina in 1990, but moved to Britain with her parents.In 1991. Rita attended the Sylvia Young Theater School in London, where she soon set her sights on becoming a singer.