BBC bosses want singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor to become the UK’s entry into next year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
It follows scathing criticism from the Corporation after this year’s pick Mae Muller finished second-to-last in Liverpool’s final last week.
Sophie, 44, is an established artist with hits such as Murder On The Dancefloor, and she reached new audiences during lockdown with her hit Kitchen Disco videos, which landed her a Radio 2 show of the same name.
The mother-of-five is due to be probed for her appearance on next year’s show as BBC bosses are set to regain full control of the selection process for UK entry.
In 2021, they handed over the role to an external company in a bid to reverse the poor performance of UK entrants.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor is an established artist with hits such as Murder On The Dancefloor
follows scathing criticism from society after this year’s pick Mae Muller (pictured) finished penultimate in Liverpool’s Eurovision Song Contest final last week
A music industry source told the Mail on Sunday: “At the moment there is only one artist on the BBC’s roster for Eurovision 2024, and they have no plans to ‘add to it.’
“Sophie Ellis-Bextor is seen as the ideal candidate for the competition – she is a great singer and performer, and is already known to audiences, straight and gay, across Europe.” The criticism the BBC has received over the decision to cast Mae Muller this year has been quite fierce.
Ms Muller was chosen to perform in last weekend’s Eurovision final by global management company TaP Music, who also picked 2022 entrant Sam Ryder, who finished second.
Doubts over Ms Muller had grown ahead of the final, with her voice being criticized as not strong enough to carry the track she performed, I Wrote A Song. His rehearsal was littered with errors and plagued with sound issues.
A series of old quotes, in which she suggested she hated the UK, alienated some.
There was also controversy when she said Boris Johnson shouldn’t have had a hospital bed when he was struck down with Covid.
It also emerged that she had applied for a German passport, which she said she wanted to help cut down on extra paperwork while performing in the EU.