Brit Awards viewers were left baffled when they spotted a “horse” sitting in the audience of the ITV show next to EastEnders star Danny Dyer.

Incensed viewers watched as host Jack Whitehall made reference to Danny, who rocked up in a checked suit and white T-shirt, along with a pair of circular shades. But next to him, wrapped in a red gown and with a white heart stamped on her forehead, was someone who looked to be decidedly more equine – complete with horse ears atop her head.

The mysterious horse had a muzzle made up of black make-up and looked unaffected when the camera was on her. But soon the mystery was solved thanks to a few eagle-eyed social media viewers.

One correctly identified the star as HorsegiirL, German DJ and singer, who hides her identity behind a horse head mask. She’s responsible for the popular TikTok track My Barn My Rules – which fellow Brits attendee Arielle Free was suspended from BBC Radio 1 for publicly slamming.

DJ Arielle Free was pulled off air when appearing in a guest slot on Radio 1 Ibiza’s show by co-star Charlie Hedges she hit out at the song, admitting: “I hate it.”

Charlie told her: “Sorry, I’m taking your mic down. It’s my show, Arielle, have some respect please. This is Dance Anthems. Have some respect. See you later, get out of here.”

Baffled viewers turned to X to share their thoughts, with one writing: “It’s highly likely danny dyer bringing a horse to the brit awards won’t even make the top five of weirdest things to happen tonight.” Someone else wondered: “So is Danny Dyer’s horse date one of his #MarchingPowder co-stars? Is this all a PR stunt? I need answers.”

Somebody else quipped: “Horse is Grace Jones. Oh it’s not Masked Singer?”

Horsegiirl describes herself as “half-horse, half-human”, using the real name Stella Stallion according to i-D and claiming she grew up on “Sunshine Farms”. Her hit track appeared on Dazed magazine’s 20 best tracks of 2023 – and her latest single, take it offff, was released last year as part of her EP v.i.p. – very important horse singles.

Horsegiirl calls her fans “armies”, and cites stars including Lady Gaga and Dolly Parton as her inspiration.