Call it what you will — uninspiring song choices, strong competition, the curse of Brexit — but the United Kingdom is suffering from a severe case of Eurovision hoodoo.
Finishing dead bottom for the past two editions, with poor old James Newman struck down by the ignominy of the nul points in 2021, these isles haven’t produced a top 10 finisher since Jade Ewen hit the heady heights of fifth back in 2009. So how did Sam Ryder — the social media sensation whose TikToks helped win him a major label contract during the pandemic — feel when the call came asking him to try and reverse the UK’s fortunes at this year’s Eurovision?
