From the Editor
T celebrate two of the big events in the TV calendar. On Saturday night it’s the nal of the Eurovision Song Contest, the campest, most overthetop music contest ever conceived. Fifty years on from Abba’s win in the Brighton Dome in 1974, the grand nal is ttingly live from Malmo in Sweden. Graham Norton will be providing his usual tongueincheek commentary on BBC1, and Olly Alexander will be representing the United Kingdom.
Turn to page 20 to read veteran music journalist Pete Paphides’s take on this year’s contest. And if you want to see how the competition has evolved, you can watch the 1974 contest in its entirety on BBC iPlayer, if only to marvel at what a brilliant broadcaster the late, great Katie Boyle was.
The other big moment in the world of television is the Baftas, which are on BBC1 on Sunday night. We caught up with some of the stars of the small screen who have had a particularly good year, as well as celebrating Strictly Come Dancing, which began 20 years ago this month and is nominated in the best entertainment show category.
But Strictly is far from being cosy Saturdaynight TV. Craig Revel Horwood, the man who has been on the judging panel from day one, proudly explains that Strictly has always taken risks and pushed the boundaries for two decades.
Elsewhere we have an exclusive episode guide to Doctor Who by the showrunner himself, Russell T Davies. His enthusiasm is infectious and he’s clear what he wants from the new series of the sci classic: “I hope it has a new energy. I want it to feel younger, wilder, more lively, a bit more bonkers, more capable of going anywhere.”
We can’t think of a better programme to precede Eurovision this Saturday night.