THE UK suffered a humiliating defeat in the Eurovision Song Contest with entry James Newman scoring zero points on the night.
Newman, who is the older brother of fellow musician John Newman, must have been hoping he had done enough to secure a respectable placing with his song Embers.
An upbeat number designed to celebrate the end of lockdown; in truth, the song differed little from many of the tracks performed on the night.
However, for whatever reason, both the assembled Eurovision juries and those watching on from home felt differently, with Newman scoring a big fat zero from both.
The reaction from the 3,500 fans in attendance at the Ahoy arena in Rotterdam was a raucous one, with the UK’s failings in the competition a continued source of mirth to many.
Newman, to his credit, took the result in his stride, standing to applaud when the numbers, or lack thereof, came through.
He will no doubt be aware that bigger forces were at play.
After all, the UK is no stranger to Eurovision humiliating in the era of Brexit, having finished last as recently as 2018 with Michael Rice’s Bigger Than Us.
Despite the negative reaction on the night, Newman found plenty of celebrity supporters among those watching at home.
Writing on Twitter, Drag Race star Michelle Visage said: "I am sending this tweet to James Newman and James only. You were INCREDIBLE."
Great British Bake Off star Matt Lucas also Tweeted: "We love you James Newman."
Fellow singer Tom Grennan wrote: "JAMES NEWMAN IS A TOP LAD."
Italy's act Maneskin was the big winner, taking home the Eurovision crown with the rock track Zitti E Buoni.
Maneskin scored a mammoth 524 points to win the competition with France second and Switzerland third.
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