Cilla Black is said to have been "approached twice" to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Liverpool legend, who hailed from Vauxhall, hit the big time in the 1960s with her number one singles Anyone Who Had A Heart and You're My World, becoming the UK's best-selling female artist by the end of the decade. Cilla, who died in 2015 at the age of 72, was also known on our TV screens to host Blind Date and Surprise Surprise.
Liverpool is currently on the road to Eurovision 2023, after winners Ukraine could not hold the competition for safety and security reasons due to the ongoing invasion by Russia. But like other Liverpudlian entertainers Sonia and Atomic Kitten's Liz McClarnon - Cilla also has a link to the Eurovision Song Contest.
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It has long been rumoured Cilla Black was once offered the job the year after Sandie Shaw won with Puppet on a String. In 1968, Cilla was said to have been the BBC's first choice as a representative for the UK, but turned it down, reasoning that she didn't believe Britain or any nation would win the competition back to back.
In March that year, A Song for Europe was presented by Cilla as a special edition on her BBC series. Singer Cliff Richard performed Celebration on the show, which saw viewers cast votes by postcard via mail and hail him their winner to represent the UK.
Photographs, courtesy of our archives Mirrorpix, show Cilla and Cliff counting votes for Britain's song for Eurovision contest on March 8, 1968. After Sandie Shaw brought home the trophy with a total of 47 points in Vienna in 1967, the thirteenth Eurovision Song Contest took place in the Royal Albert Hall in London - the first Eurovision Song Contest to be broadcast in colour.
The bookmakers were sure of another British victory after Cliff Richard had dominated the European charts for several years already. But Congratulations was beaten by just one point by Spain's Massiel.
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In January 2003, the Liverpool Daily Post also reported how "Eurovision folklore" has it that Cilla also declined a second time because she was pregnant. But Liverpool's links to Eurovision are ever-growing.
In 1993, singer Sonia said she would represent the UK on the condition that, if they won, Liverpool would act as the host city the following year. The BBC agreed and Sonia went on to place second on the show, falling just behind Ireland's Niamh Kavanagh.
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During her solo career, Atomic Kitten's Liz McClarnon released the track Don't It Make You Happy which she sent off for consideration to be UK's official ESC 2007 entry. Liz was beaten by pop group Scooch, but managed to get her track into the official shows set list as she performed it on the BBC's pre-Eurovision television show, Making Your Mind Up, where viewers voted for their favourite.
Liverpool duo Jemini were the UK's first "nul points" representative in 2003. The pair performed their song Cry Baby in Latvia that year.
And of course this year, Liverpool hosts the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine as last year Sam Ryder's Space Man placed second. This year, Mae Muller will fly the flag for the United Kingdom in Liverpool's Eurovision Song Contest.
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