Eurovision's Sam Ryder backed for return to contest to 'save' United Kingdom

Sam Ryder is being backed to return to the Eurovision Song Contest to 'save' the United Kingdom and reverse their fortunes, after his second place two years ago has been followed by back to back disappointing results.

Already well known to TikTok users, thanks to his videos on the social media app, Sam took Europe by storm in 2022, when he topped the jury votes, thanks to an emphatic performance of his song Space Man. Sam came close to winning the whole thing, only to be beaten at the last second by Ukraine, who had a huge wealth of public support to storm the all important televote.

After his second place at Eurovision in Turin, Sam was the toast of the UK, and as well as very nearly landing a number 1 single with Space Man, was invited to perform it at a number of major events, including the Party at the Palace for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

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The strong showing in 2022 raised fans' expectations for what was to come but sadly, 12 months later, Mae Muller finished second bottom - a position on the leaderboard the UK had become more accustomed to in recent years. And, now after this year's act OIly Alexander finished 18th and was dealt the very harsh blow of scoring zero with the public, experts think Sam could be getting a phone call to do the job again.

While its former X Factor finalist and Nothing's Real But Love singer Rebecca Ferguson who is the early favourite to represent the UK next year, having sung at the Liverpool contest last year, Sam isn't far behind, with pundits at betideas.com having him on odds of 4/1 to return to Eurovision.

Lee Astley, spokesperson for Betideas commented: "“Olly Alexander’s dreaded ‘nul points’ score from the public vote on Saturday means it’s back to the drawing board for the United Kingdom and their Eurovision project, with our market suggesting they could turn to a familiar face to spearhead their 2025 bid in Switzerland.

“Sam Ryder, who redefined the UK’s presence in the competition with his runner-up finish in 2022, is the second favourite at 4/1 to be our representative in next year’s edition. Rebecca Ferguson leads the way at 4/5 to be awarded the role after performing in the 2023 semi-finals as an interval act, with Rina Sawayama (9/2) also in contention.”