‘Doctor Who’ Star Ncuti Gatwa Given Central Job For UK At This Year’s Eurovision Song Contest
Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa will have the job of announcing the British jury’s points at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
The Guardian newspaper reports that Gatwa, who is currently starring as the 15th Doctor in the BBC’s long-running sci-fi drama, will follow in the footsteps of previous stars including Joanna Lumley, Nigella Lawson and Doctor Who alumna Catherine Tate.
Gatwa’s job on the night of the Eurovision Grand Final, to take place in Switzerland on Saturday May 17, comes alongside a special Eurovision-themed episode of Doctor Who airing on the same day, called ‘Interstellar Song Contest’ – where the Doctor visits a galaxy-wide singing competition.
BBC Eurovision presenters Graham Norton and Rylan will also appear in the special episode.
Dr Who showrunner Russell T Davies said in a statement:
“There’s no song contest without the great man himself. It was an honour to welcome Graham Norton to our studios in Cardiff. This is the wildest episode of all, and we’re lucky to have Graham adding to the mayhem.”
Switzerland will host the 69th Contest in Basel. The current favourite to win the Contest is Sweden, with the song Bara bada bastu (translated as “Just sauna”) performed by KAJ.
The UK are sending theatrical music trio Remember Monday, and will be crossing fingers the girl band does better than the UK’s previous two contestants – Mae Muller came 25th (out of 26) and Olly Murs came 18th. The UK did better in 2022, when its artist Sam Ryder came second to Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra. The following year, due to the ongoing war situation in Ukraine, the Contest was hosted in Liverpool, UK.
