Dame Joanna Lumley to announce UK's Eurovision 'douze points'

The UK's Eurovision results will be announced by Dame Joanna Lumley.

The 78-year-old Absolutely Fabulous star will have the prestigious role of revealing the points that the UK's national jury has decided to give out to the other contestants during next week's grand finale in Malmo.

A combination of public votes and the judgement from professional juries from participating nations decides the crowned victor. Dame Joanna said: "Good evening Malmo, it's Joanna here. I am delighted to be announcing the jury vote for the UK at this year's Eurovision.

"It's such a fabulous honour to give the iconic 'douze points'."

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Graham Norton, the Eurovision commentator, unveiled Dame Joanna as the UK's spokesperson on BBC One's The One Show on Friday. The points range from the highest "douze points" (12) to zero, handed down by the jury, which consists of five members whose background is relevant to the competition.

Following the presentation of the scores, all the public points from participating countries are compiled, resulting in one composite score for each song. Dame Joanna follows a line-up of esteemed UK spokespeople including Catherine Tate, Amanda Holden, Nigella Lawson, Mel Giedroyc and Richard Osman.

Years & Years' lead singer Olly Alexander will take to the stage performing his upbeat track "Dizzy" while representing the UK for Tuesday's Eurovision audience.

Alexander has already secured his spot in the final, joining the ranks of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and last year's victor Sweden. For the first time ever, the "big five" nations along with the host country will showcase their entries in full during the semi-final stages.

The line-up for the first semi-final includes: Cyprus, Serbia, Lithuania, Ireland, Ukraine, Poland, Croatia, Iceland, Slovenia, Finland, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Australia, Portugal, and Luxembourg.

Come Thursday, another set of hopefuls from Malta, Albania, Greece, Switzerland, Czechia, Austria, Denmark, Armenia, Latvia, San Marino, Georgia, Belgium, Estonia, Israel, Norway, and the Netherlands will take to the stage.

It's up to the viewers to decide which of the remaining countries will advance to this year's final.

The much-anticipated Eurovision grand final will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, starting at 8pm on Saturday May 11.