Bill Bailey says his ‘silly’ Eurovision pitch was rejected

Virgin Radio

25 May 2021, 14:52

Following the UK's disastrous zero points at the Eurovision Song Contest this weekend, many had been calling for Bill Bailey to enter.

Poor James Newman received no votes from either the jury panel or the public, being the only country in the competition to end with zero, at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Fans have been suggesting who they would like to see representing the UK, and ideas include the Frock Destroyers or the United Kingdolls from RuPaul's Drag Race, and Bill Bailey.

However, it seems that Bill might already have thrown his hat into the ring before.

He said he once entered a Eurovision Song Contest submission but it was rejected for being ‘too silly’. 

Bill previously won Strictly Come Dancing, and he's putting himself forward to represent the UK at Eurovision 2022.

He revealed on Good Morning Britain: ‘A few years ago I sent a submission to Eurovision and it was a kind of spoof eco-anthem in the style of Dad’s Army. 

‘And the BBC said “it’s too silly”, we can’t have that. And I just thought, well this taking it seriously, that’s not going well either is it.’

Susanna Reid suggested: ‘Dust off the eco-anthem and send it in because we’re kind of desperate aren’t we.’  

Talking about Newman's song this year, Bill said: ‘It was a serviceable song and performance, I just think we’re missing the trick a bit. We need to celebrate the eccentricity of Britishness. 

‘It’s well put together but it’s a bit underwhelming, a bit bland. There’s always something percolating in my mind, a rock song, maybe have a giant badger. 

‘I don’t know what it is. We’re not taking it seriously enough and taking it too seriously. We’ve got it the wrong way round. We should focus on the performance, the visuals and make it big and celebrate Britishness.’ 

He laughed: ‘Some cow bells, there’s not enough cow horns in it.’ 

‘There has to be a bit more drama, a bit more theatre. That’s what this show is about it’s a huge celebration. 

‘Some of it is bonkers. There’s something that we really need to channel, even if it’s a bit over the top, a bit eccentric.  ‘That’s something that’s been lacking.’ 

Italy won this year's competition, with Maneskin receiving 524 points. 

France and Switzerland were the judge's favourites, but the public voted overwhelmingly in favour of Italy.